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THE  LIBRARY 

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The 

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Their  Philosophy  in  Sayings 
and  'Proverbs 


CONFUCIUS 


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Wisdom  of  the  Chinese 

Their  'Philosophy  in  Sayings 
and  T*roverbs 

Edited  with  an  Introduction 

By 

'^rian  'Brown 

And  a  Preface  by  Ly  Hoi  Sang 


New  York 
Srentano'  s 

Publishers 


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COPYRIGHT,   1920 
BY   BRENTANO'S 


First  Printing,  December  1920 

Second  Printing,  July  1021 

Third   Printing,   August,    1922 

Fourth  Printiny,  October,  1924 


.  .        6519 

CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PREFACE .     .     o  7 

INTRODUCTION II 

CONFUCIUS:   ANALECTS 21 

CONFUCIUS:    THE    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    MEAN      ,  39 

CONFUCIUS:    GREAT    LEARNING        6 1 

MENCIUS:   THE    REAL    MAN 6j 

LAO   TZU:   TAO-TEH-KING 85 

LAO   TZU:   WU-WEI lOI 

LAO   TZU :    PRECEPTS   AND   SAYINGS Ill 

CHUANG   TZU 1 23 

YANG   CHU 137 

KANG-HSl's    SACRED   EDICT 1 45 

KUAN-YI-WU;    YU    TSE;    TSE-CHAN 1 49 

THE    POETRY    OF    THE    CHINESE 1 55 

PROVERBS    AND    MAXIMS I7I 

MORAL   MAXIMS 1 83 

BIBLIOGRAPHY   AND   SOURCES 207 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


CONFUCIUS Frontispiece 

FACING 
PAGE 

A    CHILD    WORSHIPPING    THE    SAGE 62 


LAO    TZU 86 


PREFACE 


Wi 


E  say,  in  China:  *' Confucius!  Confucius! 
How  great  Confucius!  Before  Confucius  there 
never  was  a  Confucius.  Since  Confucius  there 
never  has  been  a  Confucius.  How  great  is 
Confucius!" 

In  the  Western  world  someone  has  said: 
*' Confucius  invented  wisdom,"  and  when  you 
find  sayings  of  his  like  this  one  —  "When  you 
know  a  thing,  to  hold  that  you  know  it,  and  when 
you  do  not,  to  admit  the  fact,  —  this  is  knowl- 
edge," you  are  willing  to  allow  him  the  title. 

Confucius  and  his  greatest  follower  Mencius 
were  reformers  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word. 
Their  whole  aim  was  to  construct  personal  char- 
acter, and  they  demanded  that  the  moral  and 
spiritual  nature  should  be  substituted  for  the 
might  of  the  strong. 

No  rank  was  too  high,  no  class  too  humble, 
to  be  taught  this  universal  principle;  and  with  no 
other  personal  authority  than  their  own  honest  con- 
viction, these  men  went  forth  to  demand  of  kings 
and  peoples  the  square  acceptance  of  its  claims. 

7 


8  PREFACE 

When  Confucius  was  thirty-three  years  of 
age  he  visited  Lao  Tzii,  who  was  then  eighty- 
seven;  and  it  is  recorded  that  the  great  founder 
of  Taoism  was  not  much  impressed  by  the 
younger  man. 

Lao  Tzu  was  a  mystic;  his  Wu  Wei  means 
"do  nothing,"  the  supposed  meaning  of  which  is: 
get  in  harmony  with  the  great  Spirit  of  things 
and  you  will  be  unconsciously  impelled  to  right 
action  —  in  other  words,  do  nothing  with  self- 
will.  Confucius,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a  prac- 
tical man,  a  teacher  of  ethics,  who  thought  by 
self-conscious  direction  one  could  arrive  at  proper 
action.  To  Lao  Tzii,  Confucius  seemed  a  materi- 
alist, so  it  is  not  strange  that  the  young  man  did 
not  impress  the  older  one. 

Both  these  great  men,  though  they  differ  in 
method,  are  the  substance  of  the  Chinese  conscious- 
ness, the  race-mold  or  type;  they  have  left  their 
mark  upon  their  people.  They  were  illumined  men, 
lighted  with  the  spirit  to  see  and  do  right.  They 
had  the  power  to  make  clear  the  path  for  others; 
they  went  about  introducing  the  noble  thoughts 
that  lead  to  the  higher  life,  and  they  inspired  true 
confidence  by  practicing  what  they  preached. 

Both  sages  inspired  great  followers;  the  great 
exponent  of  Confucius  was  Mencius,  who  proved 


PREFACE  9 

himself  worthy  of  his  master;  the  great  expo- 
nent of  the  doctrines  of  Lao  Tzu  was  Chuang  Tzu^ 
himself  a  mystic,  and  by  nature  fitted  for  the 
interpretation  of  the  mystical  teachings  of  the 
Tao  which  could  be  translated  as  "  Way,''  — 
meaning  the  spiritual  "Way'*  or  path  trodden  by 
those  having  a  close  contact  with  nature.  Lao 
Tzu  said:  *'Go  back  to  Mother  Nature,  for  lying 
on  her  bosom,  you  will  be  guided  on  the  proper 
way.'* 

I  hope  that  this  book  of  wise  sayings,  selected 
and  collected  by  Mr.  Brown,  will  be  the  power 
for  showing  some  people  in  the  Western  world 
the  way  back  to  Mother  Nature  and  her  Tao. 

I  am  sure  that  the  great  American  people, 
broad-minded  and  fair,  are  only  too  willing  to 
investigate  and  give  vahie  to  the  thoughts  of  my 
people. 

Ly  Hoi  Sang 

Author  oj  "A   Collection  oj  Pearls." 


INTRODUCTION 

Sir  ROBERT  HART  in  his  book,  "The  East- 
ern Question,"  says  of  the  Chinese:  "They  are 
well-behaved,  law-abiding,  intelligent,  economi- 
cal, and  industrious;  they  can  learn  anything 
and  do  anything;  they  are  punctiliously  polite; 
they  worship  talent,  and  they  believe  in  right  so 
firmly  that  they  scorn  to  think  it  requires  to  be 
supported  or  enforced  by  might;  they  delight  in 
literature,  and  everywhere  they  have  their  little 
clubs  and  coteries  for  learning  and  discussing  each 
others'  essays  and  verses;  they  possess  and  prac- 
tice an  admirable  system  of  ethics,  and  they  are 
generous,  charitable,  and  fond  of  good  works; 
they  never  forget  a  favor,  they  make  rich  re- 
turn for  any  kindness,  and  though  they  know 
that  money  will  buy  service,  a  man  must  be 
more  than  wealthy  to  gain  public  esteem  and  re- 
spect; they  are  practical,  teachable,  and  won- 
derfully gifted  with  common  sense;  they  are 
excellent  artisans,  reliable  workmen,  and  of  a 
good  faith  that  everyone  acknowledges  and  ad- 

II 


12  INTRODUCTION 

mires  in  their  commercial  dealings;  in  no  coun- 
try has  'Honor  thy  father  and  mother'  been  so 
religiously  obeyed,  or  so  fully,  and  without  excep- 
tion given  effect  to,  and  this  is  in  fact  the  keynote 
of  their  family,  social,  official,  and  national  life, 
and  because  it  is  so  their  days  are  long  in  the 
land  God  has  given  them/'  i 

It  is  very  strange,  when  you  consider  the 
above  tribute,  and  when,  upon  delving  into  the 
history  of  Uie  Chinese  —  their  arts,  literature,  and 
philosophy  —  you  fmd  that  they  had  produced 
their  greatest  literature  when  Hammurabi  was 
making  laws  for  young  Babylon;  or  before  the 
city  of  Rome  had  been  founded;  and  that  they 
had  great  thinkers  before  Socrates  or  Plato  ap- 
peared in  Greece :  yet  if  you  will  look  in  the  his- 
tories of  philosophies  published  in  the  West  you 
will  not  fmd  one  mention  of  the  Chinese  thinkers. 

It  may  be  that  the  Western  mind,  the  academic 
one  in  mean,  is  repelled  by  the  form  in  vrhrch  the 
Chinese  sages  used  to  express  their  thoughts. 
The  philosophy  of  the  Chinese  is  expressed  for 
the  most  part  by  short  sayings,  proverbs,  and 
maxims,  brought  out  in  conversation  with  their 
disciples,  in  the  manner  of  Socrates  and  his  dis- 
ciples. This,  to  the  Western  mind,  does  not  seem 
so  interesting  as  to  begin  with  a  method  —  a  sys- 


INTRODUCTION  I3 

tern  of  philosophy,  in  fact,  beginning  with  a  well- 
defined  idea,  and  finishing  with  what  is  called  a 
logic/al  conclusion. 

The  Chinese  philosophy  is  called  *'not  com- 
plete" because  of  this  lack  of  Developed  Methods, 
logic  —  observation  —  induction  and  deduction. 
What  philosophy  is  complete?  Is  life  complete? 
Has  the  whole  sum  of  human  experience  been 
exhausted,  and  can  man  experience  no  more?  Is 
the  evolution  of  human  consciousness  at  an  end? 
The  mind  of  man  is  not  made;  it  is  in  the  mak- 
ing. Every  day  something  is  added  to  our  con- 
sciousness that  was  not  there  before.  Truth  is 
being  revealed  by  a  slow  growth  of  consciousness, 
not  by  prophecy. 

Prophecy  offers  to  answer  for  evolution  and  all 
collectivism  sooner  or  later  becomes  absolutism. 
Most  methods  of  philosophy  have  absolutism  and 
prophecy  at  their  base  —  religions  are  an  example 
of  this;  philosophy  should  be  free  from  aca- 
demic methods;  so  also  should  the  arts  be  free 
in  their  expression.  The  Great  Spirit  never  gave 
an  individual  an  inspiration  that  at  the  same 
time  he  did  not  give  the  symbol  of  expression 
with  it. 

This  is  an  age  in  which  technique  is  overde- 
veloped, in  fact  it  ha^  almost  taken  the  olace  of 


14  INTRODUCTION 

inspiration.  Conscious  creation  through  the  will 
is  the  order  of  the  day,  and  every  other  person 
you  meet  is  a  *' self-willed  genius."  Pictures  are 
painted  with  method,  but  no  soul;  poetry  is 
written,  but  the  only  inspiration  in  it  is  a  new 
idea  of  how  to  construct  in  language :  as  though 
the  symbol  and  not  the  idea  is  poetic. 

Books  of  philosophical  essays  are  written,  fol- 
lowing some  method  of  reasoning,  containing 
myriads  of  words  and  mountains  of  confusion, 
but  not  one  new  idea.  Here  again  method  seems 
to  be  taking  the  place  of  inspiration.  To  have 
common  sense  in  your  day  is  to  be  a  philosopher. 
Socrates  said,  "Do  not  call  me  wise  —  I  am  not 
a  wise  man,  I  am  only  a  searcher  after  wisdom." 

Confucius  said  the  same  thing  many  years  be- 
fore: "Be  not  self-deceived  in  wisdom,  look  far- 
ther." Lao  Tzii,  b.c.  604,  the  Chinese  mystic, 
would  correspond  to  the  early  Christian  mystics; 
he  came  to  spiritual  understanding  through  the 
higher  spiritual  emotion  and  not  through  intel- 
lect. Professor  Gobelenz  said  of  Lao  Tzii's  great 
work,  the  "Tao  Teh  King":  "One  of  the  most 
eminent  masterpieces  of  the  Chinese  language; 
one  of  the  profoundest  books  of  philosophy  the 
world  has  ever  produced." 

The  Chinese  language  is  admirably  adapted  to 


INTRODUCTION  I5 

the  epigrams  and  proverbs  expressed  in  this  beau- 
tiful work;  his  mysticism  is  hard  to  penetrate, 
but  is  filled  with  the  most  valuable  spiritual  guid- 
ance. As  he  himself  says,  ''Only  one  who  is 
eternally  free  from  passions  can  comprehend  its 
spiritual  essence." 

Confucius  was  a  great  moral  teacher;  he  was 
more  interested  in  the  social  structure  than  Lao 
Tzii.  He  taught  that  virtue  and  high  moral  con- 
duct are  developed  through  behavior;  Lao  Tzu 
• —  that  the  spiritual  is  everything.  Confucius 
said,  "Do  not  do  to  others  what  you  would  not 
have  them  do  to  you."  His  idea  of  love  was  not 
sentimental,  it  was  more  practical;  he  was  a 
practical  idealist.  He  said,  "Do  justice  to  thy 
neighbor." 

His  whole  system  is  based  on  nothing  more 
than  understanding  human  nature  and  perfect- 
ing the  individual  through  moral  education.  To 
him  the  attainment  of  perfect  virtue  was  the  true 
aim  of  living.  His  moral  philosophical  sayings 
are  worthy  to  stand  alongside  of  the  Greek, 
Latin,  or  Hebrew  teachers. 

He  deserves  to  be  mentioned  with  Moses,  for 
he  dedicated  his  life  to  the  improvement  of  his 
fellow-man.  He  set  forth  seven  rules  necessary 
for  Improvement.     They  are:    The  investigation 


l6  INTRODUCTION 

of  things;  the  completion  of  knowledge;  the  sin- 
cerity of  thoughts  and  acts;  the  rectifying  of  the 
heart;  the  cultivation  of  the  person;  the  regula- 
tion of  the  family  and  the  government.  Men- 
cius,  B.C.  372,  was  first  a  Taoist,  but  later  on  he 
became  the  most  brilliant  exponent  of  Confucius. 
He  advocated  many  radical  measures  of  reform, — 
universal  education,  free  trade,  and  that  only 
land  should  be  taxed,  as  in  Henry  George's 
"Single  Tax  Theory." 

Mencius  said:  "I  love  life,  and  I  love  right- 
eousness. If  I  cannot  have  both,  I  choose  right- 
eousness.'* He  also  could  be  mentioned  with  the 
world's  greatest  thinkers. 

Chuang  Tzii  was  the  greatest  propagandist  of 
Taoism.  He  might  correctly  be  called  the  "Tao- 
saturated  Man,"  as  Spinoza  was  called  the 
"God-intoxicated  Man."  He  protested  against 
the  artificiality  and  materialism  of  his  day  and 
advocated  a  return  to  nature. 

Yang  Chu,  the  Epicurean  of  China,  was  the 
very  opposite  to  Confucius,  Lao-Tzu,  and  their 
followers,  in  his  philosophy.  He  evolved  a  phi- 
losophy for  life  in  which  all  is  centered  in  the 
senses,  and  taught  that  the  cultivation  of  the 
senses  is  the  true  basis  of  philosophy. 

The  other  sages,  included  in  this  very  incom- 


INTRODUCTION  IJ 

plete  anthology,  are  represented  by  what  appears 
to  be  their  most  prominent  expression.  Their 
philosophy  explains  itself;  their  ideas  arc  about 
life  and  things,  the  same  as  our  o\vn.  Their  race 
consciousness  is  very  old  and  their  views  of  life 
and  things  are  mellowed  by  long  experience. 

Through  a  long  contact  and  complete  inti- 
macy w4th  nature,  a  philosophy  of  life  was  im- 
parted to  them.  They  unconsciously  gave  ex- 
pression to  the  inward  feelings  and  emotions  that 
the  cosmic  law  —  the  all  divine  —  functioning  in 
the  material,  imparted  to  them. 

Their  thought  added  to  our  Western  thought 
should  result  in  an  eclecticism  of  great  value  to 
us  both. 


CONFUCIUS.     551  B.C. 
ANALECTS 


c 


The  Wisdom  of  the  Qhinese 

CONFUCIUS.    551  B.C. 

ANALECTS 

On  Governing 

HI  K'ANG  TZU  questioned  Confucius  on  a 
point  of  government,  saying:  "Ought  not  I  to  cut 
off  the  lawless  in  order  to  establish  law  and  order? 
What  do  you  think?"  —  Confucius  rephed:  "Sir, 
what  need  is  there  of  the  death  penalty  in  your 
system  of  government?  If  you  showed  a  sincere 
desire  to  be  good,  your  people  would  likewise  be 
good.  The  virtue  of  the  prince  is  like  unto  wind; 
that  of  the  people,  like  unto  grass.  For  it  is  the 
nature  of  grass  to  bend  when  the  wind  blows 
upon  it.' 


True  Goodness 

Jl  en  yuan  inquired  as  to  the  meaning  of  true 
goodness.  The  Master  said :  "The  subdual  of  self, 
and  reversion  to  the  natural  laws  governing  con- 
duct—  this  is  true  goodness.     If  a  man  can  for 

21 


22      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

the  space  of  one  day  subdue  his  selfishness  and 
revert  to  natural  laws,  the  whole  world  will  call 
him  good.  True  goodness  springs  from  a  man's 
own  heart.  How  can  it  depend  on  other  men?"  — ■ 
Yen  Yuan  said:  "Kindly  tell  me  the  practical  rule 
to  be  deduced  from  this."  — The  Master  replied: 
"Do  not  use  your  eyes,  your  ears,  your  power  of 
speech  or  your  faculty  of  movement  without  obey- 
ing the  inner  law  of  self-control."  —  Yen  Yiian  said : 
"Though  I  am  not  quick  in  thought  or  act,  I  will 
make  it  my  business  to  carry  out  this  precept." 


The  Princely  Man 

OSU-MA  NIU  asked  for  a  definition  of  the 
princely  man.  The  Master  said:  "The  princely 
man  is  one  who  knows  neither  grief  nor  fear."  — 
Absence  of  grief  and  fear!  Is  it  the  mark  of  a 
princely  man?  —  The  Master  said:  " If  on  search- 
ing his  heart  he  finds  no  guilt,  why  should  he 
grieve?    of  what  should  he  be  afraid?" 


On  Pretense 

It  has  not  been  my  lot  to  see  a  divine  man;  could 
I  see  a  princely  man,  that  would  satisfy  me.  It 
has  not  been  my  lot  to  see  a  thoroughly  virtuous 


CONFUCIUS.      551      B.  C.  23 

man;  could  I  see  a  man  possessing  honesty  of 
soul,  that  would  satisfy  me.  Is  it  possible  there 
should  be  honesty  of  soul  in  one  who  pretends  to 
have  what  he  has  not;  who,  when  empty,  pretends 
to  be  overflowing;  who,  when  in  want,  pretends 
to  be  in  affluence? 


T; 


Exalted  Virtue 


ZU  CtlANG  asked  how  to  attain  exalted  vir- 
tue. The  Master  said:  "Make  conscientiousness 
and  truth  your  guiding  principles,  and  thus  pass 
on  to  the  cultivation  of  duty  to  your  neighbor. 
This  is  exalted  virtue." 


T; 


On  Being  Distinguished 


ZU  CHANG  asked:  "What  must  a  man  do  in 
order  to  be  considered  distinguished?  '*  —  The  Mas- 
ter said:  "What  do  you  mean  by  the  term  dis- 
tinguished?" —  Tzii  Chang  replied:  "I  mean  one 
whose  fame  fills  both  his  ow^n  private  circle  and 
the  State  at  large."  — The  Master  said:  "That  is 
notoriety,  not  distinction.  The  man  of  true  dis- 
tinction is  simple,  honest,  and  a  lover  of  justice 
and  duty.  He  weighs  men*s  words,  and  observes 
the  expression  of  their  faces. 


24      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

"  He  is  anxious  to  put  himself  below  others.  Such 
a  one  is  truly  distinguished  in  his  private  and  his 
public  life.  As  to  the  man  who  is  merely  much 
talked  about,  he  puts  on  an  appearance  of  charity 
and  benevolence,  but  his  actions  belie  it.  He  is 
self-satisfied  and  has  no  misgivings. 

"Neither  in  private  nor  in  public  life  does  he 
achieve  more  than  notoriety.'* 


Noble  Character 

A  HE  Master  said:  "The  higher  tj^pe  of  man 
makes  a  sense  of  duty  the  groundwork  of  his 
character,  blends  with  it  in  action  a  sense  of  har- 
monious proportion,  manifests  it  in  a  sense  of  un- 
selfishness, and  perfects  it  by  the  addition  of 
sincerity  and  truth.  Then  indeed  is  he  a  noble 
character.'* 


The  higher  type  of  man  seeks  all  that  he  wants 
in  himself;  the  inferior  man  seeks  all  that  he 
wants  from  others. 


The  higher  type  of  man  is  firm  but  not  quarrel- 
some; sociable,  but  not  clannish. 


CONFUCIUS.      551      B.  C.  25 

The  wise  man  does  not  esteem  a  person  more 
highly  because  of  what  he  says,  neither  does  he 
undervalue  what  is  said  because  of  the  person  who 
says  it. 

Is  not  he  a  sage  who  neither  anticipates  deceit 
nor  suspects  bad  faith  in  others,  yet  is  prompt 
to  detect  them  when  they  appear? 


Power  of  Example 

X  HE  Master  wished  to  settle  among  the  nine 
Eastern  tribes.  Someone  said:  "How  can  you? 
They  are  savages."  The  Master  replied:  "If  a 
higher  type  of  men  dwelt  in  their  midst,  how 
could  their  savage  condition  last?" 


The  Nine  Points 

X  HE  noble  sort  of  man  pays  special  attention 
to  nine  points.  He  is  anxious  to  see  clearly,  to 
hear  distinctly,  to  be  kindly  in  his  looks,  respect- 
ful in  his  demeanor,  conscientious  in  his  speech, 
earnest  in  his  affairs;  when  in  doubt,  he  is  care- 
ful to  inquire;  when  in  anger,  he  thinks  of  the 
consequences;  when  offered  an  opportunity  for 
gain,  he  thinks  only  of  his  duty. 


26    the   wisdom    of    the    chinese 

The  Five  Qualities 

X  ZU  Chang  asked  Confucius  a  question  about 
Moral  virtue.  Confucius  replied,  "  Moral  virtue 
simply  consists  in  being  able,  anywhere  and 
everyvv'here,  to  exercise  five  particular  qualities." 
Asked  what  these  were,  he  said:  "Self-respect, 
magnanimity,  sincerity,  earnestness,  and  benevo- 
lence. Show  self-respect,  and  others  will  respect 
you;  be  magnanimous,  and  you  will  win  all 
hearts;  be  sincere,  and  men  will  trust  you;  be 
earnest,  and  you  will  achieve  great  things;  be 
benevolent,  and  you  will  be  fit  to  impose  your 
will  on  others." 


Righteousness 

X  ZU  Lu  asked :  "Does  not  the  princely  man  value 
courage?"  The  Master  said:  "He  puts  righteous- 
ness first.  The  man  of  high  station  who  has 
courage  without  righteousness  is  a  menace  to  the 
State;  the  common  man  who  has  courage  with- 
out righteousness  is  nothing  more  than  a  brigand." 


On  Hate 

1  ZU  Kung  asked:  "Has  the  nobler  sort  of  man 
any  hatreds?"    The  Master  replied:  "He  has.    He 


CONFUCIUS.      551     B.  C.  27 

hates  those  who  publish  the  faults  of  others;  he 
hates  men  of  low  condition  who  vilify  those 
above  them;  he  hates  those  whose  courage  is  un- 
accompanied by  self-restraint;  he  hates  those 
who  are  audacious  but  narrow-minded." 

"And  you,  Tzii,"  he  added,  "have  you  also  your 
hatreds?  "  "I  hate,"  replied  the  disciple,  "those  who 
think  that  wisdom  consists  in  prying  and  med- 
dling; courage,  in  showing  no  compliance;  and 
honesty,   in   denouncing  other  men." 


Ti 


The  Four  Words 


HERE  were  four  words  of  which  the  Master 
barred  the  use:  He  would  have  no  "shalFs," 
no  "must's,"  certainly  no  "Ts." 


A 


Confucius  on  Himself 


lT  fifteen,  my  mind  was  bent  on  learning.  At 
thirty  I  stood  firm.  At  forty  I  was  free  from 
delusions.  At  fifty  I  understood  the  laws  of 
Providence.  At  sixty  my  ears  were  attentive  to 
the  truth.  At  seventy  I  could  follow  the  prompt- 
ings of  my  heart  without  overstepping  the  mean. 


28      THE      WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

The  failure  to  cultivate  virtue,  the  failure  to 
examine  and  analyze  what  I  have  learnt,  the 
inability  to  move  toward  righteousness  after  be- 
ing shown  the  way,  the  inability  to  correct  my 
faults  —  these  are  the  causes  of  my  grief. 

I  do  not  expound  my  teaching  to  any  who 
are  not  eager  to  learn;  I  do  not  help  out  any- 
one who  is  not  anxious  to  explain  himself;  if, 
after  being  shown  one  corner  of  a  subject,  a  man 
cannot  go  on  to  discover  the  other  three,  I  do  not 
repeat  the  lesson. 

•  • 

If  the  pursuit  of  riches  were  a  commendable 
pursuit,  I  would  join  in  it,  even  if  I  had  to 
become  a  chariot-driver  for  the  purpose.  But 
seeing  that  it  is  not  a  commendable  pursuit,  I 
engage  in  those  which  are  more  to  my  taste. 

• 

The  Master  said:  "In  me,  knowledge  is  not 
innate.  I  am  but  one  who  loves  antiquity  and 
is  earnest  in  the  study  of  it." 

•  • 

If  I  am  walking  with  two  other  men,  each  of 
them  will  serve  as  my  teacher.  I  will  pick  out 
the  good  points  of  one  and  imitate  them,  and 
the  bad  points  of  the  other  and  correct  them 
in  myself. 


CONFUCIUS.      551      B.  C.  29 

There  are  men,  I  dare  say,  who  act  rightly 
without  knowing  the  reason  why,  but  I  am  not 
one  of  them.  Having  heard  much,  I  sift  out  the 
good  and  practice  it;  having  seen  much,  I  retain 
it  in  my  memory.  This  is  the  second  order  of 
wisdom. 


To  divide  wisdom  and  perfect  virtue  I  can 
lay  no  claim.  All  that  can  be  said  of  me  is  that 
I  never  falter  in  the  course  which  I  pursue  and 
am  unwearying  in  my  instruction  of  others  — 
this  and  nothing  more.  I  Kung-hsi  Hua  said; 
"But  those  are  just  the  qualities  that  we,  your 
disciples,  are  unable  to  acquire." 


On  Observation 

IVIEN'S  faults  are  characteristic.  It  is  by  ob- 
serving a  man's  faults  that  one  may  come  to  know 
his  virtues. 


Observe  a  man's  actions;  scrutinize  his  mo- 
tives; take  note  of  the  things  that  give  him 
pleasure.  How  then  can  he  hide  from  you  what 
he  really  is? 


30      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

Acquire  new  knowledge  whilst  thinking  over 
the  old,  and  you  may  become  a  teacher  of  others. 

• 

Study  without  thought  is  vain;  thought  (on 
Knowledge)  without  study  is  perilous. 

Shall  I  tell  you  what  true  knowledge  is? 
When  you  know,  to  know  that  you  know,  and 
when  you  do  not  know,  to  know  that  you  do  not 
know  —  that  is  true  knowledge. 

The  scholar  who  is  bent  on  studying  the 
principles  of  virtue,  yet  is  ashamed  of  bad  clothes 
and  coarse  food,  is  not  yet  fit  to  receive  instruc- 
tion. 

Prominence 

INSTEAD  of  being  concerned  that  you  have  no 
office,  be  concerned  to  think  how  you  may  fit 
yourself  for  office.  Instead  of  being  concerned 
that  you  are  not  known,  seek  to  be  worthy  of 
being  known. 

Self-control 

When  you  see  a  good  man,  think  of  emulat- 
ing him;  when  you  see  a  bad  man,  examine  your 
own  heart. 


CONFUCIUS.      551      B.C.  31 

Chi  Wen  Tzii  used  to  reflect  thrice  before  he 
acted.  When  told  of  this,  the  Master  said: 
"Twice  would  do." 

The  Master  said:  '*AIas!  I  have  never  seen  a 
man  who  could  see  his  own  faults  and  arraign 
himself  at  the  bar  of  his  own  conscience." 


W 


Meditation 

ORDS  of  just  admonition  cannot  fail  to  com- 
mand a  ready  assent.  But  practical  reformation 
is  the  thing  that  really  matters.  Words  of  kindly 
advice  cannot  fail  to  please  the  listener.  But  sub- 
sequent meditation  on  them  is  the  thing  that 
really  matters. 

I  can  make  nothing  of  the  man  who  is  pleased 
with  advice  but  will  not  meditate  on  it,  who 
assents  to  admonition  but  does  not  reform. 


Life  and  Death 

V>HI  LU  inquired  concerning  men's  duty  to 
spirits.  The  Master  replied:  ''Before  we  are  able 
to  do  our  duty  by  the  hving,  how  can  we  do  it 
by  the  spirits  of  the  dead?"  Chi  Lu  went  on  to 
inquire  about  death.     The  Master  said:  "Before 


32      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

we  know  what  life  is,  how  can  we  know  what 
death  is?" 

•        • 

Rich  and  Poor 

IT  is  harder  to  be  poor  without  murmuring  than 
to  be  rich  without  arrogance. 


T 


Virtue  for  Effect 

HE  men  of  olden  time  who  studied  virtue  had 
only  their  own  improvement  in  view;  those  who 
study  it  now  have  an  eye  to  the  applause  of 
others. 

•        • 

On  Teaching 

XvEFUSAL  to  instruct  one  who  is  competent  to 
learn  entails  the  waste  of  a  man.  Instruction  of 
one  who  is  incompetent  to  learn  entails  waste  of 
words.  The  wise  man  is  he  who  wastes  neither 
men    nor  words. 

He  who  requires  much  from  himself  and  little 
from  others  will  be  secure  from  hatred. 


The  real  fault  is  to  have  faults  and  not  try  to 
amend  them. 


♦ 


CONFUCIUS.      551     B.  C.  33 

When  a  man  is  generally  detested,  or  when  he 
is  generally  beloved,  closer  examination  is  neces- 
sary. 


Only  two  classes  of  men  never  change:    The 
wisest  of  the  wise  and  the  dullest  of  the  dull. 


Shadows  and  Virtues 

Speaking  toXzu  Lu,  the  Master  said:  "Have 
you  ever  heard  of  the  six  shadows  which  attend 
six  great  virtues?"  "No,"  he  replied.  "Sit  down 
then,  and  I  will  tell  you.  Love  of  goodness  with- 
out the  will  to  learn  casts  the  shadow  called 
foolishness.  Love  of  knowledge  without  the  will 
to  learn  casts  the  shadow  called  insensibility. 
Love  of  candor  without  the  will  to  learn  casts 
the  shadow  called  rudeness.  Love  of  daring  with- 
out the  will  to  learn  casts  the  shadow  called  tur- 
bulence. Love  of  firmness  without  the  will  to 
learn  casts  the  shadow  called  eccentricity." 


1  our    goody-goody    people   are  the  thieves  of 
virtue. 


34    the   wisdom   of   the   chinese 

Does  God  Speak 

X  HE  Master  said:  "Would  that  I  could  do  with- 
out speaking!"  Tzu  Kung  said:  "If  our  Master 
never  spoke,  how  could  we,  his  disciples,  trans- 
mit his  doctrines?  "The  Master  replied:  "Does  God 
speak?  The  four  seasons  hold  on  their  course, 
and  all  things  continue  to  live  and  grow.  Yet, 
tell  me,  does  God  speak?" 

•  • 

Servants 

ijIRLS  and  servants  are  the  most  difficult  people 
to  handle.  If  you  treat  them  familiarly,  they  be- 
come disrespectful;  if  you  keep  them  at  a  dis- 
tance, they  resent  it. 

•  • 

True  Values 

W  HEN  the  solid  outweighs  the  ornamental,  we 
have  boorishness;  when  the  ornamental  out- 
weighs the  solid,  we  have  superficial  smartness. 
Only  from  a  proper  blending  of  the  two  will  the 
higher  type  of  man  emerge. 

c  • 

Sayings  of  the  Disciples 

J.  SENG  TZO  said :  "  Ability  asking  instruction 
of  incompetence,  abundance  sitting  at  the  feet  of 


CONFUCIUS.      551      B.  C.  35 

insiifFiciency,  a  man  of  every  virtue  who  thought 
he  had  none,  soUd  in  character  yet  making  him- 
self a  cipher,  trespassed  against  but  nevei  re- 
tahating,  —  such  was  the  humble  state  of  mind 
in  which  my  late  friend  spent  his  life." 


Tzu  Hsia  said:  "The  man  who  can  appreciate 
moral  worth  and  disengage  his  mind  from  sen- 
sual passion;  who  can  put  forth  his  utmost 
strength  to  serve  his  parents,  and  lay  down  his 
Hfe  to  serve  his  prince;  who  speaks  sincerely  in 
his  intercourse  with  friends  —  such  a  man,  though 
the  world  may  call  him  untaught,  has  in  my 
opinion  received  the  best  and  highest  education." 


Ssu-ma,  lamenting,  said:  "All  other  men  have 
brothers;  I  alone  have  none."  Tzii  Hsia  said  to 
him:  "  I  have  heard  it  said  that  life  and  death  are 
divine  dispensations,  that  wealth  and  rank  de- 
pend on  the  will  of  God.  The  higher  type  of 
man  is  unfailingly  attentive  to  his  own  conduct, 
and  shows  respect  and  true  courtesy  to  others. 
Thus  all  within  the  w^orld  are  his  brethren.  How 
then  should  he  grieve  at  having  no  brothers?" 


CONFUCIUS 

THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  MEAN 


CONFUCIUS 

THE   DOCTRINE   OF   THE   MEAN 
ON  TRUTH 


Ti 


RUTH  is  the  law  of  God.  Acquired  truth  is 
the  law  of  man.  He  who  intuitively  apprehends 
truth  is  one  who,  without  effort,  hits  what  is 
right,  and  without  thinking  understands  what  he 
wants  to  know;  whose  life  is  easily  and  natu- 
rally in  harmony  with  the  moral  law.  Such  a  one 
is  what  we  call  a  saint  or  a  man  of  divine  nature. 
He  who  acquires  truth  is  one  who  finds  out  what 
is  good  and  holds  fast  to  it. 

In  order  to  acquire  truth,  it  is  necessary  to 
obtain  a  wide  and  extensive  knowledge  of  what 
has  been  said  and  done  in  the  world;  critically 
to  inquire  into  it;  carefully  to  ponder  over  it; 
clearly  to  sift  it;    and  earnestly  to  carry  it  out. 


Ti 


Realization  of  Truth 


RUTH  means  the  realization  of  our  being; 
and  moral  law  means  the  law  of  our  being. 
Truth  is  the  beginning  and  end  (the  substance) 

39 


40   THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  CHINESE 

of  existence.  Without  truth  there  is  no  exist- 
ence. It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  moral  man 
values   truth. 

Truth  is  not  only  the  realization  of  our  own 
being:  it  is  that  by  which  things  outside  of  us 
have  an  existence.  The  realization  of  our  being 
is  moral  sense.  The  realization  of  things  outside 
of  us  is  intellect.  These,  moral  sense  and  intel- 
lect, are  the  powers  and  faculties  of  our  being. 
They  combine  the  inner  and  subjective  and  outer 
or  objective  use  of  the  power  of  the  mind.  There- 
fore with  truth  everything  done  is  right. 


Absolute  Truth 

J.  HUS  absolute  truth  is  indestructible.  Being 
indestructible,  it  is  eternal.  Being  eternal  it  is 
self-existent.  Being  self-existent,  it  is  infinite. 
Being  infinite  it  is  vast  and  deep.  Being  vast  and 
deep  it  is  transcendental  and  intelligent. 


It  is  because  it  is  vast  and  deep  that  it  con- 
tains all  existence.  It  is  because  it  is  transcen- 
dental and  intelligent  that  it  embraces  all  exist- 
ence. It  is  because  it  is  infinite  and  eternal  that 
it  fills  all  existence. 


CONFUCIUS  41 

In  vastness  and  depth  it  is  like  the  Earth.  In 
transcendental  intelligence  it  is  like  Heaven. 
Infinite  and  eternal,  it  is  Infinitude  itself. 


Such  being  the  nature  of  absolute  truth,  it 
manifests  itself  without  being  evident;  it  pro- 
duces effects  without  action;  it  accomplishes  its 
ends  without  being  conscious. 


Ti 


Truth  and  Intelligence 


HE  intelligence  which  comes  from  the  direct 
apprehension  of  truth  is  intuition.  The  appre- 
hension of  truth  wihch  comes  from  the  exercise 
of  intelligence  is  the  result  of  education.  Where 
there  is  truth,  there  is  intelligence;  where  there 
is  intelligence,  there  is  truth. 


Truth  and  the  Cosmic  Laws 

It  is  only  he,  in  the  world,  who  possesses  abso- 
lute truth  who  can  get  to  the  bottom  of  the  law 
of  his  being.  He  who  is  able  to  get  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  law  of  his  being  will  be  able  to  get 


42      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

to  the  bottom  of  the  law  of  being  of  other  men. 
He  who  is  able  to  get  to  the  bottom  of  the  law 
of  being  of  men  will  be  able  to  get  to  the  bottom 
of  the  laws  of  physical  nature.  He  who  is  able 
to  get  to  the  bottom  of  the  laws  of  physical 
nature  will  be  able  to  influence  the  forces  of  crea- 
tion of  the  Universe.  He  who  can  influence  the 
forces  of  creation  of  the  Universe  is  one  with  the 
Powers  of  the  Universe. 


Ti 


Truth  and  Knowledge 


HE  next  order  of  the  process  of  man's  mind  is 
to  attain  to  the  apprehension  of  a  particular 
branch  of  knowledge.  In  every  particular  branch 
of  knowledge  there  is  truth.  Where  there  is 
truth,  there  is  substance.  Where  there  is  sub- 
stance, there  is  reality.  Where  there  is  reality, 
there  is  intefligence  Where  there  is  intelhgence, 
there  is  power.  Where  there  is  power  there  is 
influence.  Where  there  is  influence,  there  is  crea- 
tive power. 

It  is  only  he  who  possesses  absolute  truth  in 
the  world  who  can  create. 


confucius  43 

Truth  and  Foreknowledge 

XT  is  an  attribute  of  the  possession  of  absolute 
truth  to  be  able  to  foreknow.  When  a  nation  or 
family  is  about  to  flourish,  there  are  sure  to  be 
lucky  omens.  When  a  nation  or  family  is  about 
to  perish,  there  are  sure  to  be  signs  and  prodigies. 
These  things  manifest  themselves  in  the  instru- 
ments of  divination  and  in  the  agitation  of  the 
human  body.  When  happiness  or  calamity  is 
about  to  come,  it  can  be  known  beforehand. 
When  it  is  good,  it  can  be  known  beforehand. 
When  it  is  evil,  it  can  also  be  known  beforehand. 
Therefore  he  who  possesses  absolute  truth  is 
like  a  spiritual  being. 


Moral  Law 

1  KNOW  now  why  there  is  no  real  moral  life. 
The  wise  mistake  moral  law  for  something  higher 
than  what  it  really  is;  and  the  foolish  do  not 
know  enough  what  moral  law  really  is.  I  know 
now  why  the  moral  law  is  not  understood.  The 
noble  natures  want  to  hVe  too  high,  high  above 
their  moral  ordinary  self;  and  ignoble  natures 
do  not  live  high  enough,  i.e.,  not  up  to  their 
moral  ordinary  true  self. 


44      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

The  life  of  the  moral  man  is  an  exemplification 
of  the  universal  moral  order.  The  Ufe  of  the  vul- 
gar person,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  contradiction 
of  the  universal  moral  order. 

The  moral  law  is  a  law  from  whose  operation 
we  cannot  for  one  instant  in  our  existence  escape. 
A  law  from  which  we  may  escape  is  not  the  moral 
law.  Wherefore  it  is  that  the  moral  man  watches 
diligently  over  what  his  eyes  cannot  see  and  is  in 
fear  and  awe  of  w^hat  his  ears  cannot  hear.  There 
is  nothing  more  evident  than  that  which  cannot 
be  seen  by  the  eyes  and  nothing  more  palpable 
than  that  which  cannot  be  perceived  by  the 
senses.  Wherefore  the  moral  man  watches  dili- 
gently over  his  secret  thoughts. 


Every  system  of  moral  laws  must  be  based 
upon  man's  own  consciousness.  It  must  be  veri- 
fied by  the  common  experience  of  men.  Ex- 
amined into  by  comparing  it  with  the  teachings 
of  acknowledged  great  and  wise  men  of  the  past, 
there  must  be  no  divergence.  Applying  it  to  the 
operations  and  processes  of  nature  in  the  physical 
universe,  there  must  be  no  contradiction.  Con- 
fronted with  the  spiritual  powers  of  the  universe 
a  man  must  be  able  to  maintain  it  without  any 


CONFUCIUS  45 

doubt.  He  must  be  prepared  to  wait  a  hundred 
generations  after  him  for  the  coming  of  a  man 
of  perfect  divine  nature  to  confirm  it  without  any 
misgiving. 

•         • 

Force  of  Character 

i^  ORCE  of  character  is  a  wonderful  thing. 
Wherefore  the  man  with  the  true  force  of  moral 
character  is  one  ^Ulo  is  easy  and  accommodating 
and  yet  without  weakness  or  mdiscrimination. 
How  unflinchingly  hrm  he  is  in  his  strength!  He 
is  independent  without  any  bias.  When  there  is 
moral  social  order  in  the  country,  if  he  enters 
pubhc  hfe  he  does  not  change  from  what  he  was 
when  in  retirement.  When  there  is  no  moral 
social  order  in  the  country  he  holds  on  his  way 
without  changing  even  unto  death.  How  un- 
flinchingly firm  is  he  in  his  strength; 


Holding  to  the  Moral  Law 

i  HERE  are  men  who  seek  for  some  abstruse 
meaning  in  religion  and  philosophy  and  live  a 
life  singular  in  order  that  they  may  leave  a  name 
to  posterity.  This  is  what  I  never  would  do. 
There  are  again  good  men  who  try  to  live  in  con- 
formity with  the  moral  law,  but  who,  when  they 


46   THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  CHINESE 

have  gone  halfway,  throw  it  up.     I  never  could 
give  it  up. 

Lastly,  there  are  truly  more  men  who  uncon- 
sciously live  a  life  m  entire  harmony  with  the 
universal  moral  order  and  who  live  unknown  to 
the  world  and  unnoticed  of  men  vv^ithout  any 
concern.  It  is  only  men  of  holy,  divine  natures 
who  are  capable  of  this. 

•  • 

Understanding  the  Moral  Law 

X  HE  moral  law  is  to  be  found  everywhere,  and 
yet  it  is  a  secret.  The  simple  intelligence  of  ordi- 
nary men  and  women  of  the  people  may  under- 
stand something  of  the  moral  law;  but  in  its 
utmost  reaches  there  is  something  which  even  the 
holiest  and  wisest  of  men  cannot  understand. 

• 

The  Ignoble  natures  of  ordinary  men  and 
women  of  the  people  miay  be  able  to  carry  out 
the  moral  law;  but  in  its  utmost  reaches  even 
the  wisest  and  holiest  of  men  cannot  live  up  to  it. 

• 

•  • 

The  Universe  and  the  Moral  Mind 

VJrREAT  as  the  Universe  is,  the  man  with  the 
infinite  moral  nature  in  him  is  never  satisfied. 


CONFUCIUS  47 

For  there  is  nothing  so  great  but  the  mind  of  the 
moral  man  can  conceive  of  something  still  greater 
which  nothing  in  the  world  can  hold.  There  is 
nothing  so  small  but  the  mind  of  moral  man  can 
conceive  of  something  still  smaller  which  nothing 
in  the  universe  can  split.  The  Book  of  Songs 
says:  "The  hawk  soars  to  the  heavens  above  and 
fishes  dive  to  the  depths  below.'  That  is  to  say, 
there  is  no  place  in  the  highest  heavens  above  nor 
in  the  deepest  waters  below  where  the  moral  law 
does  not  reign. 

The  moral  law  takes  its  rise  in  the  relation  be- 
tween men  and  women;  but  in  its  utmost  reaches 
it  reigns  supreme  over  heaven  and  earth. 


Practice  of  the  Moral  Law 


Ti 


HE  moral  law  is  not  something  away  from  the 
actuality  of  human  life.  When  men  take  up 
something  away  from  the  actuality  of  human  life 
as  the  moral  law,  that  is  not  the  moral  law. 
When  a  man  carries  out  the  principles  of  con- 
scientiousness and  reciprocity  he  is  not  far  from 
the  moral  law.  What  you  do  not  wish  others 
should  do  unto  you,  do  not  do  unto  them. 


48      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 


Ti 


Four  Points  of  the  Moral  Law 


HERE  are  four  things  in  the  moral  life  of  a 
man  not  one  of  which  I  have  been  able  to  carry 
out  in  my  life.  —  To  serve  my  father  as  I  would 
expect  my  son  to  serve  me:  that  I  have  not  been 
able  to  do.  To  serve  my  sovereign  as  I  would 
expect  a  minister  under  me  to  serve  me:  that  I 
have  not  been  able  to  do.  To  act  toward  my 
elder  brother  as  I  would  expect  my  younger 
brother  to  act  to^^'ard  mc:  that  I  have  not  been 
able  to  do.  To  be  the  first  to  behave  toward 
friends  as  I  would  expect  them  to  behave  toward 
me:   that  I  have  not  been  able  to  do. 


Improvement 

In  the  discharge  of  the  ordinary  duties  of  life 
and  in  the  exercise  of  care  in  ordinary  conversa- 
tion, whenever  there  is  shortcoming,  never  fail  to 
strive  for  improvement,  and  when  there  is  much 
to  be  said,  always  say  less  than  what  is  necessary; 
words  having  respect  to  actions  and  actions  hav- 
ing respect  to  words.  Is  it  not  just  this  thorough 
genuineness  and  absence  of  pretense  which  char- 
acterizes the  moral  man? 


confucius  49 

Self-control  under  all  Circumstances 

i  HE  moral  man  conforms  himself  to  his  life  cir- 
cumiStances;  he  does  not  desire  anything  outside 
of  his  position.  Finding  himself  in  a  position  of 
wealth  and  honor,  he  hves  as  becomes  one  living 
in  a  position  of  wealth  and  honor.  Finding  him- 
self in  a  position  of  poverty  and  humble  cir- 
cumstances, he  lives  as  becom.es  one  hving  in  a 
position  of  poverty  and  humble  circumstances. 
Finding  himself  in  uncivilized  countries,  he  lives 
as  becomes  one  living  in  uncivilized  countries. 

Finding  himself  in  circumstances  of  danger  and 
difficulty,  he  acts  according  to  what  is  required  of 
a  m.an  under  such  circumstances. 

In  one  word,  the  moral  man  can  find  himself 
in  no  situation  in  life  in  which  he  is  not  master 
of  himself. 

In  a  high  position  he  does  not  domineer  over 
his  subordinates.  In  a  subordinate  position  he 
does  not  court  the  favors  of  his  superiors.  He 
puts  in  order  his  own  personal  conduct  and  seeks 
nothing  from  others;  hence  he  has  no  complaint 
to  make.  He  complains  not  against  God  nor 
rails  against  man. 

Thus  it  is  that  the  moral  man  lives  out  the 
even  tenor  of  his  life,  calmly  waiting  for  the  ap- 


50      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

pjintment  of  God,  whereas  the  vulgar  person 
takes  to  dangerous  courses,  expecting  the  uncer- 
tain chances  of  luck. 


Self-analysis 


I 


N  the  practice  of  archery  we  have  something 
resembling  the  principle  in  a  man's  moral  life. 
When  the  archer  misses  the  center  of  the  target 
he  turns  round  and  seeks  for  the  cause  of  his 
failure  within  him.self. 


Beginning  at  the  Bottom 

1  HE  moral  hfe  of  man  may  be  hkened  to  travel- 
ing to  a  distant  place:  one  must  start  from  the 
nearest  stage.  It  may  also  be  hkened  to  ascend- 
ing a  height:  one  must  begin  from  the  lowest 
step.    The  Book  of  Songs  says: 

'*  When  wives  and  children  and  their  sires  are  one, 
'Tis  like  the  harp  and  lute  in  unison. 

When   brothers   live   in   concord   and   at  peace 
The   strain    of  harmony    shall   never   cease. 

The   lamp   of  happy    union    Kghts   the   home, 
And    bright    days    follow    when    the    children 
come.** 


confucius  51 

Moral  Law  and  Nature 

1  HE  moral  laws  form  one  system  with  the  laws 
by  which  Heaven  and  Earth  support  and  con- 
tain, overshadow  and  canopy  all  things.  These 
moral  laws  form  the  same  system  with  the  laws 
by  which  the  seasons  succeed  each  other  and  the 
sun  and  moon  appear  with  the  alternations  of 
day  and  night.  It  is  this  same  system  of  laws 
by  which  all  created  things  are  produced  and  de- 
velop themselves  each  in  its  order  and  system 
without  injuring  one  another;  by  which  the  opera- 
tions of  nature  take  their  course  without  conflict 
and  confusion,  the  lesser  forces  flowing  every- 
where like  river  currents,  while  the  great  forces 
of  creation  go  silently  and   steadily  on. 

It  is  this  —  one  system  running  through  all  — 
that  makes  the  Universe  so  impressively  great. 

• 
•        • 

Gifts  of  the  Morally  Perfect 

J.T  is  only  the  man  with  the  most  perfect  divine 
moral  nature  who  is  able  to  combine  in  himself 
quickness  of  apprehension,  intelhgence,  insight, 
and  understanding:  qualities  necessary  for  the 
exercise  of  command;  magnanimity,  generosity, 
benignity,  and  gentleness:  qualities  necessary  for 


52      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

the  exercise  of  patience;  originality,  energy, 
strength  of  character,  and  determination:  quah- 
ties  necessary  for  the  exercise  of  endurance;  dig- 
nity, noble  seriousness,  order,  and  regularity: 
quahties  necessary  for  the  exercise  of  self-respect; 
grace,  method,  delicacy,  and  kicidity:  qualities 
necessary  for  the  exercise  of  critical  judgment. 

• 

Thus  all-embracing  and  vast  is  the  nature  of 
such  a  man.  Profound  it  is  and  inexhaustible, 
like  a  hving  spring  of  water,  ever  running  out 
with  hfe  and  vitahty.  All-embracing  and  vast, 
it  is  like  Heaven.  Profound  and  inexhaustible, 
it  is  like  the  abyss. 

As  soon  as  such  a  man  shall  make  his  appear- 
ance in  the  world,  all  people  shall  reverence  him. 
Whatever  he  says,  all  people  will  believe  it. 
Whatever  he  does,  all  people  will  be  pleased  with 
it.  Thus  his  name  and  fame  will  spread  and  fill 
all  the  civilized  world,  extending  even  to  savage 
countries.  Wherever  ships  and  carriages  reach; 
wherever  the  labor  and  enterprise  of  man  pene- 
trate; wherever  the  heavens  overshadow  and  the 
earth  sustains;  wherever  sun  and  moon  shine; 
wherever  frost  and  dew   fall,   all  who  have  life 


CONFUCIUS  53 

and  breath  will  honor  him.     Therefore  we  may 
say,  "He  is  the  equal  of  God." 

* 

When  calamities  or  blessings  are  about  to 
befall,  the  good  or  the  evil  will  surely  be  fore- 
known to  him.  He,  therefore,  who  is  possessed 
of  the  completest  sincerity,  is  hke  a  spirit. 


Ti 


Spiritual  Forces 


HE  power  of  spiritual  forces  in  the  Universe 
—  how\active  it  is  everywhere!  Invisible  to  the 
eyes  and  impalpable  to  the  senses,  it  is  inherent 
in  all  things,  and  nothing  can  escape  its  operation. 
It  is  a  fact  that  there  are  these  forces  which 
make  men  in  all  countries  fast  and  purify  them- 
selves, and  with  solemnity  of  dress  institute 
services  of  sacrifice  and  religious  worship.  Like 
the  rush  of  mighty  waters,  the  presence  of  un- 
seen Powers  is  felt,  sometimes  above  us,  some- 
times around  us. 

The  ordinance  of  God  is  what  we  call  the  law 
of  our  being.  To  fulfill  the  law  of  our  being  is 
what  we  call  the  moral  law.  The  moral  law  when 
reduced  to  a  system  is  what  we  call  religion. 


54   THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  CHINESE 

Confucius  remarked:  "There  was  the  emperor 
Shun.  He  was  perhaps  what  may  be  considered 
a  truly  great  intellect.  Shun  had  a  natural  curios- 
ity of  mind,  and  he  loved  to  inquire  into  near 
facts  [literally,  "near  words,"  meaning  here  ordi- 
nary topics  of  conversation  in  everyday  life]. 
He  looked  upon  evil  merely  as  something  nega- 
tive; and  he  recognized  only  what  was  good  as 
having  a  positive  existence.  Taking  the  two 
extremes  of  negative  and  positive,  he  applied  the 
mean  betv/een  the  two  extremes:  in  his  judgment, 
employment,  and  dealings  with  people. 

"This  was  characteristic  of  Shun's  great  intel- 
lect." 


Knowledge  of  Morals 

OOME  men  are  born  with  the  knowledge  of  these 
moral  qualities;  some  acquire  it  as  the  result  of 
education;  some  acquire  it  as  the  result  of  hard 
experience.  But  when  the  knowledge  is  acquired, 
it  comes  to  one  and  the  same  thing.  Some  exer- 
cise these  moral  qualities  naturally  and  easily; 
some  because  they  find  it  advantageous  to  do  so; 
some  with  effort  and  difficulty.  But  when  the 
achievement  is  made,  it  comes  to  one  and  the 
same  thing. 


CONFUCIUS  §^ 

When  the  passions,  such  as  joy,  anger,  grirf, 
and  pleasure,  have  not  awakened,  that  is  our  true 
self  or  moral  being.  When  these  passions  awaken 
and  each  and  all  attain  due  measure  and  degree, 
that  is  the  moral  order.  Our  true  self  or  moral 
being  is  the  great  reality  [lit.,  "great  root"]  of 
existence,  and  moral  order  is  the  universal  law 
in  the  world. 

When  true  moral  being  and  moral  order  are 
realized,  the  universe  then  becomes  a  cosmos  and 
all  things  attain  their  full  growth  and  develop- 
ment. 

Personal  Conduct 

±jY  attending  to  the  cleanliness  and  purity  of 
his  person  and  to  the  propriety  and  dignity  of 
his  dress,  and  in  everv^  word  and  act  permitting 
nothing  which  is  contrarj^  to  good  taste  and  de- 
cency, that  is  how  one  puts  in  order  his  personal 
conduct. 


The  Foolish 

l\  MAN  who  is  foolish,  and  yet  is  fond  of  using 
his  own  judgment;  who  is  in  humble  circun  ■» 
stances,  and  yet  is  fond  of  assuming  authority; 


§6      THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  CHINESE 

who,  while  living  in  the  present  age,  reverts  to 
the  ways  of  antiquity,  such  a  man  is  one  who 
will  bring  calamity  upon  himself. 


Life  of  the  Moral  Man 

1  HE  life  of  the  moral  man  is  plain  and  yet  not 
unattractive;  it  is  simple  and  yet  full  of  grace; 
it  is  easy  and  yet  methodical.  He  knows  that 
accomplishment  of  great  things  consists  in  doing 
small  things  well.  He  knows  that  great  effects 
are  produced  by  small  causes.  He  knows  the 
evidence  and  reality  of  what  cannot  be  perceived 
by  the  senses.  Thus  he  is  enabled  to  enter  into 
the  world  of  ideas  and  morals. 


A  man  may  be  able  to  renounce  the  possession 
of  kingdoms  and  empire,  be  able  to  spurn  the 
honors  and  emoluments  of  office,  be  able  to  tram- 
ple upon  bare,  naked  weapons;  with  all  that  he 
shall  not  be  able  to  find  the  central  clue  in  his 
moral  being. 

Men  all  say," We  are  wise";  but  when  driven 
forward  and  taken  in  a  net,  a  trap,  or  a  pitfall, 
there  is  not  one  who  knows  how  to  find  a  way  of 


CONFUCIUS  57 

escape.  Men  all  say,  "We  are  wise";  but  in 
finding  the  true  central  clue  and  balance  in  their 
moral  being  (i.e.,  their  normal,  ordinar}^  true  self) 
and  following  the  line  of  conduct  which  is  in  ac- 
cordance with  it,  they  are  not  able  to  keep  it  for 
a  round  month. 


CONFUCIUS 

THE  GREAT  LEARNING 


CONFUCIUS 

THE   GREAT  LEARNING 


Ti 


HE  capacity  for  knowledge  of  the  inferior  man 
IS  small  and  easily  filled  up;  the  intelligence  of 
the  superior  man  is  deep  and  not  easily  satisfied. 

• 

It  matters  not  what  you  learn;  but  when  you 
once  learn  a  thing,  you  must  never  give  it  up 
until  you  have  mastered  it.  It  matters  not  what 
you  inquire  into;  but  when  you  inquire  into  a 
thing,  you  must  never  give  it  up  until  you  have 
thoroughly  understood  it.  It  matters  not  what 
you  tr^^  to  think  out;  but  when  you  once  try  to 
think  out  a  thing,  you  must  never  give  it  up  un- 
til you  have  got  what  you  want.  It  matters  not 
what  you  try  to  sift;  but  when  you  once  try  to 
sift  out  a  thing,  you  must  never  give  it  up  until 
you  have  sifted  it  out  clearly  and  distinctly.  It 
matters  not  what  you  try  to  carr^^  out;  but  when 
you  once  try  to  carry  out  a  thing,  you  must  never 
give  it  up  until  3^ou  have  done  it  thoroughly  and 

well. 

(5i 


62     the    wisdom    of    the    chinese 

The  True  Scholar 

W  HEN  the  opportunity  of  gain  is  presented  to 
him,  he  thinks  on  virtue.  He  is  reverent  in  sacri- 
fice; in  mourning,  absorbed  in  the  sorrow  he 
should  feel.  He  who  cherishes  love  of  comfort  is 
not  fit  to  be  a  scholar. 


The  main  object  of  study  is  to  unfold  the  aim; 
with  one  who  loves  words,  but  does  not  improve, 
I  can  do  nothing. 

•  • 

The  scholar's  burden  is  perfection;  is  it  not 
heavy?    It  ends  but  with  hfe;   is  it  not  enduring? 


Learning  is  like  raising  a  monument;  if  I  stop 
with  this  basket  of  earth,  it  is  my  ov/n  fault.  It 
is  like  throwing  earth  on  the  ground;  one  basket 
at  a  time,  yet  I  advance. 


The  true  scholar  is  not  a  mere  utensil.  Leav- 
ing Virtue  without  proper  culture;  faihng  thor- 
oughly to  discuss  what  is  learned;  being  unable 
to  move  toward  the  righteousness  of  which  knowl- 
edge is  gained;   and  being  unable  to  change  what 


A   CHILD  WORSHIPPING  THE  SAGE 


CONFUCIUS  63 

is  not  good,  —  these  are  the  things  that  (in  my 
scholars)  give  me  anxiety. 


If  a  man  keeps  cherishing  his  old  knowledge,  so 
as  ever  to  acquire  new,  he  may  be  a  teacher  of 
others.  I  marked  Yen- Yuen's  constant  advance; 
I  never  saw  him  pause.  Often  the  blade  springs, 
but  the  plant  does  not  go  on  to  flower;  often 
the  plant  flowers,  but  produces  no  fruit. 


Having  completed  his  studies,  the  scholar 
should  devote  himself  to  official  functions.  He 
should  say:  "I  am  not  concerned  that  I  have  no 
place;  I  am  concerned  how  I  shall  fit  myself  for 
one.  I  am  not  concerned  at  not  being  known; 
I  seek  to  be  worthy  to  be  known." 


MENCIUS.     371    B.C. 
THE   REAL  MAN 


MENCIUS.     371  B.C. 

THE  REAL  MAN 

l\  REAL  MAN  is  one  whose  goodness  is  a  part 
of  himself.  Of  the  qualities  of  the  sage,  none  is 
greater  than  that  of  being  a  helper  of  men  to 
right  living.  He  is  ashamed  of  a  reputation  be- 
yond his  desert.  Having  found  the  right  way 
within  himself,  he  rests  in  it,  firm  and  serene, 
holding  intimate  converse  Vvith  it,  and  reaching 
to  its  fountain-head.  He  obeys  the  right  and 
waits  for  the  appointed.  His  words  are  plain  and 
simple,  yet  of  widest  bearing.  His  aim  is  self- 
culture,  yet  it  gives  peace  to  all  men. 

All  things  are  aheady  complete  in  us.  There 
is  no  greater  dehght  than  to  be  conscious  of  right 
within  us.  If  one  strive  to  treat  others  as  he 
would  be  treated  by  them,  he  shall  not  fail  to 
come  near  the  perfect  hfe.  Eveiy  duty  is  a  charge, 
but  the  charge  of  oneself  is  the  root  of  all  others. 
The  disease  of  men  is  to  neglect  their  own  fields 
and  go  to  weeding  those  of  others,  to  exact  much 
from  others  and  lay  light  burdens  on  themselves. 

67 


68      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

Over-readiness  of  speech  comes  of  not  having 
been  reproved. 

Even  those  v/ho  strive  to  be  perfect  stand  in 
need  of  reproof. 

A  true  scholar  holds  possession  of  himself, 
neither  by  riches  nor  poverty  forced  away  from 
his  virtue. 


The  Warning  Voice  Within 


Li 


^ET  not  a  man  do  what  his  sense  of  right  bids 
him  not  to  do,  nor  desire  what  it  forbids  him  to 
desire.  This  is  sufficient.  The  skillful  artist  will 
not  alter  his  measures  for  the  sake  of  a  stupid 
workman. 

When  right  ways  disappear,  one's  person  must 
vanish  with  one's  principles. 

The  honor  which  man  confers  is  not  true  honor. 
Those  to  whom  Chaou  Mang  gave  rank,  he  can 
degrade  again.  He  whose  good  name  comes  from 
what  he  is,  needs  no  trappings. 

The  ancients  cultivated  the  nobility  of  Heaven, 
leaving  that  of  m.en  to  follow  in  its  train.  Serv- 
ing Heaven  consists  in  nourishing  the  real  con- 
stitution of  our  being,  anxious  neither  about  death 
nor  life. 


m  e  n  c  i  u  s.    3  7  i    b.  c.  69 

The  Discipline  of  Heaven 

W  HEN  Heaven  is  about  to  confer  a  great  office 
on  any  man,  it  first  disciplines  his  mind  with 
suffering,    and   his   bones   and   sinews   v/ith   toil. 

It  exposes  him  to  want  and  subjects  him  to 
extreme  poverty. 

It  confounds  his  undertakings. 

By  all  these  methods  it  stimulates  his  mind, 
hardens  him,  an     supphes  his  incompetencies. 


Concerning  Desires 

1  O  nourish  the  heart  there  is  nothing  better 
than  to  make  the  desires  few.  Here  is  a  man 
whose  desires  are  few;  in  some  things  he  may 
not  be  able  to  keep  his  heart,  but  they  will  be 
few.  Here  is  a  man  whose  desires  are  many;  in 
some  things  he  may  be  able  to  keep  his  heart, 
but  they  will  be  few. 

The  Child-heart 

X  HE  great  man  is  he  who  does  not  lose  his 
child-heart.  He  does  not  think  beforehand  that 
his  w^ords  shall  be  sincere,  nor  that  his  acts  shall 
be  resolute;    he  simply  abides  in  the  right. 


70   THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  CHINESE 

The  right  path  (Tao)  is  near,  yet  men  seek  it 
afar  ofF. 

The  labor  of  duty  is  easy,  yet  men  seek  it  in 
what  is  difficult. 

The  way  is  wide;  it  is  not  hard  to  know.  Go 
home  and  seek  it,  and  you  shall  not  lack  teachers. 

•  • 

Equanimity 

If  one  treat  me  unreasonably,  I  will  say:  "I 
must  have  been  wanting  in  kindness  or  propriety. 
How  else  should  this  have  happened?"  Then  I 
will  mend  my  ways.  If  the  other  continue  per- 
verse, I  must  have  self-respect  enough  to  say, 
"I  must  have  failed  to  do  my  best."  If  all  is 
vain,  I  say,  "Why  vex  myself  about  a  wild 
beast?" 

Thus  the  wise  has  lifelong  vigilance,  but  not 
one  morning's  serious  trouble. 


The  End  of  Wisdom  is  to  Seek  the 
Lost  Mind 

J.  HE  virtues  are  not  poured  into  us,  they  are 
natural:  seek,  and  you  will  fmd  them;  neglect, 
and  you  will  lose  them.     To  every  faculty  and 


M  E  N  C  I  U  S.      3  7  I      B.  C.  71 

relation  belongs  its  normal  law;  but  without  its 
fit  culture  it  will  decay.  How  lamentable  to  lose 
this  mind  and  not  know  how  to  seek  it! 

Of  all  seeds  their  virtue  is  in  their  ripeness. 
Only  he  who  has  studied  his  mental  constitution 
knows  his  nature;  knowing  his  nature,  he  knows 
Heaven. 

Greatness 

X  HEY  are  great  men  who  follow  that  part  of 
them  which  is  great.  Let  one  stand  in  his  nobler 
part,  and  the  meaner  will  not  be  able  to  take  it 
from  him.  This  is  simply  what  makes  greatness. 
The  superior  man  desires  a  wide  sphere  that  he 
may  give  peace  to  multitudes;  but  what  Ii's 
nature  makes  his  own,  cannot  be  greatened  by 
the  largeness  of  his  sphere,  nor  lessened  by  its 
obscurity. 

•         • 

What  is  a  good  man?  A  man  who  commam's 
our  hking,  is  what  is  called  a  good  man. 

He  whose  goodness  is  part  of  himself,  is  what 
is  called  a  real  man. 

He  whose  goodness  has  been  filled  up,  is  whut 
is  called  a  beautiful  man.    i 

He  whose  completed  goodness  is  brightly  df>- 
played,  is  what  is  called  a  great  man. 


72      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

When  this  great  man  exercises  a  transforming 
influence,  he  is  what  is  called  a  sage. 

When  the  sage  is  beyond  our  knowledge,  he 
is  what  is  called  a  spirit-man. 


Abstract  good  principles  are  not  enough  to 
give  the  kingdom  peace;  laws  cannot  execute 
themselves.  If  the  good  and  wise  be  not  trusted, 
the  State  wdll  come  to  naught.  The  people  are 
the  most  important  element  in  a  State;  the  ruler 
is  the  least.  The  empire  is  not  given  by  one 
man  to  another.  The  choice  of  Heaven  is  shown 
in  the  conduct  of  men.  It  is  an  old  rule  that  the 
oppressor  may  be  put  to  death  without  warning. 
King  Seuen  asked  about  relatives  of  the  ruler, 
when  high  ministers.  Mencius  replied  that,  if 
he  had  great  faults  and  would  not  hear  advice, 
they  should  dethrone  him.  The  king  changed 
countenance. 

The  disciple  Kung-too  said:  "All  are  equally 
men,  but  some  are  great  men,  and  some  are  little 
men;  how  is  this?'*  Mencius  replied:  "Those 
who  follow  that  part  of  themselves  which  is  great 
are  great  men;  those  who  follow  that  part  which 
is  little  are  little  men." 


M  E  N  C  I  U  S.      3  7  I     B.  c.  73 

Kung-too  pursued:  "All  are  equally  men,  but 
some  follow  that  part  of  themselves  which  is 
great,  and  some  follow  that  part  which  is  little; 
how  is  this?"  Mencius  answered:  "The  senses 
of  hearing  and  seeing  do  not  think,  and  are  ob- 
scured by  external  things.  When  one  thing  comes 
into  contact  with  another,  as  a  matter  of  course 
it  leads  it  away.  To  the  mind  belongs  the  office 
of  thinking.  By  thinking,  it  gets  the  right  view 
of  things;  by  neglecting  to  think,  it  fails  to  do 
this. 

"These,  the  senses  and  the  mind,  are  what 
Heaven  has  given  to  us. 

"Let  a  man  first  stand  fast  in  the  supremacy 
of  the  nobler  part  of  his  constitution,  and  the 
inferior  part  will  not  be  able  to  take  it  from  him. 
It  is  simply  this  which  makes  the  great  man." 


T 


The  Wise 


HE  wise  embrace  all  knowledge,  but  they  are 
most  earnest  about  what  is  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance. The  benevolent  embrace  all  in  their 
love,  but  what  they  consider  of  the  greatest 
importance  is  to  cultivate  an  earnest  affection 
for  the  virtuous.    Even  the  wisdom  of  Yaou  and 


74      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

Shun  did  not  extend  to  everything,  but  they 
attended  earnestly  to  what  was  important. 

Their  benevolence  did  not  show  itself  in  acts 
of  kindness  to  every  man,  but  they  earnestly 
cultivated  an  affection  for  the  virtuous. 

•         • 

The  True  and  the  False 

1  HATE  a  semblance  which  is  not  the  reality. 
I  hate  the  darnel,  lest  it  be  confounded  with  the 
corn.  I  hate  glib- tonguedn  ess,  lest  it  be  con- 
founded with  righteousness.  I  hate  sharpness  of 
tongue,  lest  it  be  confounded  with  sincerity.  I 
hate  the  music  of  Ch*ing,  lest  it  be  confounded 
with  the  true  music.  I  hate  the  reddish  blue, 
lest  it  be  confounded  with  vermilion.  I  hate 
your  good,  careful  men  of  the  villages,  lest  they 
be  confounded  with  the  truly  virtuous. 


M, 


Transcendentalism 


.AN  does  not  hve  by  experience  alone,  but  by 
transcending  experience,  assured  of  what  he  does 
not  see,  and  never  has  seen,  as  real;  nor  can  he 
ever  recognize  the  absolute  worth  and  authority 
involved  in  the  idea  of  duty  but  by  a  mental  hft 
into  a  sphere  above  all  the  limits  and  contingencies 
of  actual  human  conduct. 


M  E  N  c  I  u  s.    3  7  I    B-  c.  75 

Qualities  of  the  Great 

1  O  dwell  in  the  wide  house  of  the  world;  to 
stand  in  true  attitude  therein;  to  walk  in  the 
wide  path  of  men;  in  success,  to  share  one's 
principles  with  the  people;  in  failure,  to  live 
them  out  alone;  to  be  incorruptible  by  riches  or 
honors,  unchangeable  by  poverty,  unmoved  by 
perils  or  power,  —  these  I  call  the  qualities  of  a 
great  man. 


Appointments  of  the  Great 

1  HE  exercise  of  love  between  father  and  son, 
the  observance  of  righteousness  betv/een  sov- 
ereign and  minister,  the  rules  of  ceremony  be- 
tween guest  and  host,  the  display  of  knowledge 
in  recognizing  the  talented,  and  the  fulfilling  the 
heavenly  course  by  the  sage,  —  these  are  the 
appointments  of  Heaven.  But  there  is  an  adap>- 
tation  of  our  nature  for  them.  The  superior  man 
does  not  say  in  reference  to  them,  **It  is  the 
appointment  of  Heaven.'* 

• 

For  the  mouth  to  desire  sweet  tastes,  the  eye 
to  desire  beautiful  colors,  the  ear  to  desire  pleas- 


76      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

ant  sounds,  the  nose  to  desire  fragrant  odors, 
and  the  four  limbs  to  desire  rest  and  ease,  — 
these  things  are  natural.  But  there  is  an  appoint- 
ment of  Heaven  in  connection  with  them,  and  the 
superior  man  does  not  say  of  his  pursuit  of  them, 
"It  is  my  nature." 


In  the  empire  there  are  three  things  univer- 
sally acknowledged  to  be  honorable.  Nobility  is 
one  of  them,  age  is  one  of  them,  virtue  is  one  of 
them. 

In  courts  nobihty  holds  first  place,  in  villages 
age,  and  for  usefulness  to  one's  generation,  and 
controlling  the  people,  neither  is  equal  to  virtue. 

When  one  subdues  men  by  force,  they  do  not 
submit  to  him  in  heart  but  because  not  strong 
enough  to  resist.  When  one  subdues  men  by 
virtue,  they  are  pleased  to  the  heart's  core  and 
sincerely  submit. 

•         • 

Responsibilities  of  the  Government 

W  HEN  men  die  of  famine,  you  say  it  is  the 
season  that  is  to  blame.  What  does  this  differ 
from  saying,  when  you  have  caused  a  man's 
death.  "It  was  not  I,  but  the  weaTX)n"? 


M  E  N  C  I  U  S.      3  7  I     B.  C.  77 

"  When  a  public  officer  is  neglectful,  what  would 
you  do  with  him?" 

*'Cast  him  off,"  replies  the  king. 

*'When  in  the  whole  kingdom  there  is  no  good 
government,  what  then?" 

King  Seuen  looked  to  the  right  and  left,  and 
spoke  of  other  matters. 


When  the  old  and  weak  are  found  lying  in 
ditches,  and  your  granaries  are  full,  and  none  of 
your  prefects  has  told  you  of  these  things,  do 
not  blame  the  people  that  they  seize  their  oppor- 
tunity to  repay  such  treatment! 

If  you  know  a  tax  to  be  unjust,  end  it  at  once! 


Man  has  ten  thousand  plans  for  himself;  God 
but  one  for  him.  Man  cries,  "Now,  now!"  God 
says,  "Not  yet,  not  yet." 

A  good  man  protects  three  villages. 

Let  your  ideas  be  round  and  your  conduct 
square. 

Right  heart  need  not  fear  evil  seeming. 

God  drives  no  man  to  despair. 

One  day  of  wedded  life  deserves  a  hundred 
days  of  kindness. 


78   THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  CHINESE 

Misfortunes  issue  where  diseases  enter,  —  at 
the  mouth. 

What  is  whispered  in  the  ear  is  heard  miles 
away. 

The  gods  cannot  help  one  who  loses  oppor- 
tunities. 

Dig  your  well  before  you  are  thirsty. 
Swim  with  one  foot  on  the  ground. 
Forbearance  is  the  jewel  of  home. 


A  great  man  never  loses   the  simplicity  of  a 
child. 

Prefer  right  to  kindred  (in  patronage). 
He  who  soars  not,  suffers  not  by  a  fall. 


If  you  receive  an  ox,  give  back  a  horse. 
Act  with  kindness,  but  do  not  exact  gratitude. 
Give  by  day,  and  your  reward  shall  spring  by 
night. 

* 

By  virtue  alone  in  itself,  one  never  reaches  rule 
over  men's  hearts. 

He  must  make  his  virtue  sustain  others.    * 


M  E  N  C  I  u  s.     3  7  I     B.  c.  79 

Good-will  subdues  its  opposite,  as  water  fire. 

Friendship  with  a  man  is  friendship  with  his 
virtue. 

A  people's  limits  do  not  consist  in  dikes  and 
borders.  The  security  of  a  State  is  not  in  the 
strength  of  mountains  and  streams.  No  advan- 
tages compare  with  the  accord  of  men. 

• 

They  who  expect  to  live  without  enemies,  yet 
have  no  kindness  for  others,  are  hke  one  who 
should  try  to  hold  a  heated  body  without  dip- 
ping it  in  water. 

Men  expect  by  their  own  darkness  to  enlighten 
others.  The  artisan  may  give  a  man  compass 
and  square,  but  he  cannot  make  him  skillful  in 
the  use  of  them. 

What  misery  they  shall  suffer  who  talk  of  the 
evil  in  others.  A  man  must  first  despise  himself, 
then  others  will  despise  him.  A  family  must  first 
overthrow  itself,  then  others  will  overthrow  it. 
A  State  must  first  smite  itself,  then  others  will 
smite  it. 


80      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

Incessant  falls  teach  men  to  reform,  and  dis- 
tresses rouse  their  strength. 

Life  springs  from  calamity,  and  death  from 
ease.  Men  of  special  virtue  and  wisdom  are 
wont  to  owe  these  powers  to  the  trials  they  have 
endured. 

If  you  have  not  passed  the  bitterness  of  star- 
vation, you  know^  not  the  blessings  of  abundance; 
if  not  through  the  parting  of  death,  you  know 
not  the  joy  of  unbroken  union;  if  not  through 
calamity,  the  pleasure  of  security;  if  not  through 
storms,  the  luxury  of  calm. 


The  white  clouds  pass;   the  blue  heaven  abides. 
Noble  natures  are  calm  and  content. 
The   song   of  a   dying   bird   is  plaintive;    the 
w^ords  of  a  dying  man  are  just. 

• 

How  can  man  reward  the  care  of  Heaven? 


•         • 


Mock  not,  O  young  man,  at  gray  hairs! 
How    long   can    the   opening    flower   keep    its 
bloom? 
The  wise  place  virtue  in  thought. 


M  ENC  I  U  S  .    3  7  I     ^-  ^-  ^^ 

A  good  word  has  heat  enough  for  three  winters; 
a  hard  one  wounds  like  six  months  of  cold. 
To  yield  to  Heaven  is  to  save  one's  self. 


If  there  is  too  much  rice  in  the  kitchen,  there 
i,re  starving  people  on  the  road. 
To  help  another  helps  yourself. 
Drink  less  and  learn  more. 
The  spirits  know  your  secret  sins. 


Kwan  said:  "Now  the  whole  kingdom  is 
drowning;  how  is  it  that  you  do  not  save  it?" 
Mencius  replied:  *'A  drowning  kingdom  must  be 
rescued  by  right  principles,  not  like  a  drowning 
person,  by  the  hand." 


Have  you  watched  the  growing  grain  after  the 
season  of  drought,  how,  when  the  rain  falls,  it 
stands  up  refreshed?  Who  can  keep  it  back? 
These  shepherds  of  men  all  love  to  destroy  men. 
Were  there  but  one  w^ho  did  not,  the  people 
would  hasten  to  obey  him  as  rushing  waters  that 
cannot  be  stayed. 


82      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

"Venerable  man,"  said  the  king,  "since  you 
have  come  here  a  distance  of  a  thousand  h,  you 
have  doubtless  something  to  say  for  the  profit  of 
my  kingdom."  Mencius  replied:  "O  King,  why 
talk  of  profit?  I  have  humanity  and  justice  for 
my  teaching,  nothing  more.  If  these  be  put  last, 
and  profit  first,  your  officers  will  not  be  content 
till  they  have  stripped  you  of  all." 


The  wise  questions  himself,  the  fool  others. 

When  the  prince  goes  to  school,  he  is  like  other 
boys. 

The  highest  official  is  subject  to  the  law. 

Whoso  is  too  subservient  to  masters  will  reap 
shame. 

A  good  subject  cannot  serve  two  masters;  lay 
not  two  saddles  on  one  horse. 

A  minister  who  fears  death  will  not  be  faithful. 


Judge  not  by  appearance;  the  sea  cannot  be 
scooped  up  in  a  tumbler. 

Think  reasonably,  be  strong  for  virtue,  lean 
on  humanity,  and  in  all  things  be  content. 


LAO    TZU.     604  B.  Ce 
FROM  THE  TAO-TEH   KING 


LAO    TZU.     604  B.  c. 

FROM  THE  TAO-TEH  KING 

1  HE  grandest  forms  of  active  force 
From  Tao  come,  their  only  source. 
Who  can  of  Tao  the  nature  tell? 
Our  sight  it  flies,  our  touch  as  well. 


The  Tao  that  can  be  trodden  is  not  the  endur- 
ing and  unchanging  Tao. 

He  who  knows  the  Tao  does  not  care  to  speak 
about  it;  he  who  is  ever  ready  to  speak  about  it 
does  not  know  it. 

Those  who  know  the  Tao  are  not  extensively 
learned;    the  extensively  learned  do  not  know  it. 

The  relation  of  Tao  to  all  the  world  is  like 
that  of  the  great  rivers  and  seas  to  the  streams 
from  the  valleys. 

The  Tao  which  can  be  expressed  in  words  is 

not   the  eternal  Tao;    the  name  which  can  be 

8^ 


86      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

uttered  is  not  its  eternal  name.  Without  a  name, 
it  is  the  beginning  of  Heaven  and  Earth;  with  a 
name,  it  is  the  Mother  of  all  things. 


Only  one  who  is  eternally  free  from  earthly 
passions  can  apprehend  its  spiritual  essence;  he 
who  is  ever  clogged  by  passions  can  see  no  more 
than  its  outer  form. 


The  Spiritual  and  Material 

X  HESE  two  things,  the  spiritual  and  the  ma- 
terial, though  we  call  them  by  different  names, 
in  their  origin  are  one  and  the  same.  This  same- 
ness is  a  mystery,  —  the  mystery  of  mysteries. 
It  is  the  gate  of  all  spirituality. 


Tao  eludes  the  sense  of  sight  and  is  therefore 
called  colorless. 

It  eludes  the  sense  of  hearing  and  is  therefore 
called   soundless. 

It  eludes  the  sense  of  touch  and  is  therefore 
called  incorporeal. 

These  three  qualities  cannot  be  apprehended, 
and  hence  they  may  be  blended  into  unity. 


LAO  TZU 


L  A  O     T  Z  U.      6  O  4     B.  C.  87 


The  Form  of  Tao 


I 


TS  upper  part  is  not  bright,  and  its  lower  part 
is  not  obscure. 

Ceaseless  in  action,  it  cannot  be  named,  but 
returns  again  to  nothingness. 

We  may  call  it  the  form  of  the  formless,  the 
image  of  the  im^agelcss,  the  fleeting  and  the  inde- 
terminable. 

Would  you  go  before  it,  you  cannot  see  its 
face;  would  you  go  behind  it,  you  cannot  see 
its  back. 


T] 


The  Force  of  Tao 


HE  mightiest  manifestations  of  active  force 
flow  solely  from  Tao. 


Tao  in  itself  is  vague,  impalpable,  —  how  im- 
palpable, how  vague!  Yet  within  it  there  is  Sub- 
stance. How  profound,  how  obscure!  Yet 
within  it  there  is  a  vital  Principle.  This  Prin- 
ciple is  the  Quintessence  of  Reahty,  and  out  of 
it  comes  Truth, 


88      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

From  of  old  until  now,   its  name  has  never 

passed  away.     It  watches  over  the  beginning  of 

all  things. 

How  do   I   know  this  about  the  beginning  of 

things?     Through  Tao. 


Ti 


The  Infinite 


HERE  is  something,  chaotic  yet  complete, 
which  existed  before  Heaven  and  Earth.  Oh, 
how  still  it  is  and  formless,  standing  alone  with- 
out changing,  reaching  everywhere  without  suffer- 
ing harm! 

It  must  be  regarded  as  the  Mother  of  the  Uni- 
verse.    Its  name  I  know  not. 

To  designate  it  I  call  it  Tao.  Endeavoring  to 
describe  it,  I  call  it  great. 


The  Greatness  of  Tao 

X  HEREFORE  Tao  is  great;  Heaven  is  great; 
the  Earth  is  great;  and  the  Sovereign  also  is 
great. 

In  the  Universe  there  are  four  powers,  of  which 
the  Sovereign  is  one. 


L  A  O     T  Z  U.      6  O  4     B.  C.  89 

Man  takes  his  law  from  the  Earth;  the  Earth 
takes  its  law  from  Heaven;  Heaven  takes  its 
law  from  Tao;  but  the  law  of  Tao  is  its  own 
spontaneity. 


The  Unchanging  Tao 

JL  AO  in  its  unchanging  aspect  has  no  name. 
Small  though  it  be  in  its  primordial  simplicity, 
mankind  dare  not  claim  its  service.  Could 
princes  and  kings  hold  and  keep  it,  all  creation 
would  spontaneously  pay  homage.  Heaven  and 
Earth  would  unite  in  sending  down  sweet  dew, 
and  the  people  would  be  righteous  unbidden  and 
of  their  own  accord. 

All-pervading  is  the  Great  Tao.  It  can  be  at 
once  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left.  All 
things  depend  on  it  for  life,  and  it  rejects  them 
not. 

Its  task  accomplished,  it  takes  no  credit.  It 
loves  and  nourishes  all  things,  but  does  not  act 
as  master.  It  is  ever  free  from  desire.  We  may 
call  it  small.  All  things  return  to  it,  yet  it  does 
not  act  as  master. 

We  may  call  it  great. 

The  whole  world  will  flock  to  him  who  holds 
the  mighty  form  of  Tao.     They  will  come  aizd 


90   THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  CHINESE 

receive  no  hurt,  but  find  rest,  peace,  and  tran- 
quillity. 

Tao  is  a  great  square  with  no  angles.,  a  great 
vessel  which  takes  long  to  complete,  a  great 
sound  which  cannot  be  heard,  a  great  image 
with  no  form. 


Highest  and  Low^est 

J.  HE  highest  goodness  is  Kke  water,  for  water  is 
excellent  in  benefiting  all  things,  and  it  does  not 
strive.  It  occupies  the  lowest  place,  which  men 
abhor.     And  therefore  it  is  near  akin  to  Tao. 


Natural  Law  and  Tao 


Ai 


XL  things  ahkc  do  their  work,  and  then  we 
see  them  subside.  When  they  have  reached  their 
bloom,  each  returns  to  its  origin.  Returning  to 
their  origin  means  rest  or  fulfillment  of  destiny. 
This  reversion  is  an  eternal  law.  To  know  that 
law  is  to  be  enhghtened.  Not  to  know  it,  is 
misery  and  calamity.  He  who  knows  the  eternal 
law  is  hberal-minded.  Being  liberal-minded,  he 
is  just.  Being  just,  he  is  kingly.  Being  kingly, 
he  is  akin  to  Heaven.  Being  akin  to  Heaven,  he 
possesses   Tao.      Possessed   of  Tao,    he   endures 


L  A  O     T  Z  U.      6  O  4     B.  C.  91 

forever.    Though  his  body  perish,  yet  he  suffers 
no  harm. 


The  First  Cause 

1  HE  world  has  a  first  cause,  which  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  Mother  of  the  World.  When  one 
has  the  Mother,  one  can  know  the  Child.  He 
who  knows  the  Child  and  still  keeps  the  Mother, 
though  his  body  perish,  shall  run  no  risk  of  harm. 

■    • 
•         • 

The  Way  of  Heaven 

XT  is  the  way  of  Heaven  not  to  strive,  and  yet 
it  knows  how  to  overcome;  not  to  speak,  and 
yet  it  knows  how  to  obtain  a  response;  it  calls 
not,  and  things  come  of  themselves;  it  is  slow 
to  move,  but  excellent  in  its  designs. 


It  is  the  way  of  Heaven  to  take  from  those 
who  have  too  much  and  give  to  those  who  have 
too  little.  But  the  way  of  man  is  not  so.  He 
takes  away  from  those  who  have  too  little,  to 
add  to  his  own  superabundance. 

What  man  is  there  who  can  take  of  his  own 
superabundance  and  give  it  to  mankind?  Only 
he  who  possesses  Tao. 


92      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 


On  Self-assertion 


H 


E  who  is  self-approving  does  not  shine.  He 
who  boasts  has  no  merit.  He  who  exalts  him- 
self does  not  rise  high.  Judged  according  to 
Tao,  he  is  like  remnants  of  food  or  a  tumor  on 
the  body,  —  an  object  of  universal  disgust. 
Therefore  one  who  has  Tao  will  not  consort  with 
such. 


On  Perfect  Virtue 

jL  ERFECT  Virtue  acquires  nothing,  therefore  it 
obtains  everything.  Perfect  Virtue  does  nothing, 
yet  there  is  nothing  which  it  does  not  effect. 

Perfect  Charity  operates  without  the  need  of 
anything  to  evoke  it. 

Perfect  Duty  to  one's  neighbor  operates,  but 
always  needs  to  be  evoked. 

Perfect  Ceremony  operates  and  calls  for  no 
outward  response,  nevertheless  it  induces  respect. 


Knowledge  is  but  a  showy  ornament  of  Tao, 
while  ofttimes  the  beginning  of  imbecility. 


Wi 


L  A  O     T  Z  U.      6  0  4     B.  C.  93 


The  Superior  Scholar 


HEN  the  superior  scholar  hears  of  Tao,  he 
diligently  practices  it.  When  the  average  scholar 
hears  of  Tao,  he  sometimes  retains  it,  sometimes 
loses  it.  When  the  inferior  scholar  hears  of  Tao, 
he  loudly  laughs  at  it.  Were  it  not  thus  ridi- 
culed, it  would  not  be  worthy  of  the  name  of 
Tao. 


Ti 


Display 


HE  wearing  of  gay,  embroidered  robes,  the 
carrying  of  sharp  swords,  fastidiousness  in  food 
and  drink,  superabundance  of  property  and 
wealth,  —  this  I  call  flaunting  robbery ;  most 
assuredly  it  is  not  Tao. 


Ti 


Begin  Harmony  with  Your  Age 


EMPER  your  sharpness,  disentangle  your 
ideas,  moderate  your  brilliance,  live  in  harmony 
with  your  age.  This  is  being  in  conformity  with 
the  principle  of  Tao.  Such  a  man  is  impervious 
alike  to  favor  and  disgrace,  to  benefits  and  in- 
juries, to  honor  and  contempt.  And  therefore  he 
is  esteemed  above  all  mankind. 


94      THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 


Moderation  in  Government 


I 


N  governing  men  and  serving  Heaven  there  is 
nothing  hke  moderation.  For  only  by  modera- 
tion can  there  be  an  early  return  to  man's  nor- 
mal state.  This  early  return  is  the  same  as  a 
great  storage  of  Virtue.  With  a  great  storage  of 
Virtue  there  is  naught  that  may  not  be  achieved. 
If  there  is  naught  which  may  not  be  achieved, 
then  no  one  will  know  to  what  extent  this  power 
reaches.  And  if  no  one  knows  to  what  extent  a 
man's  power  reaches,  that  man  is  fit  to  be  the 
ruler  of  a  State.  Having  the  secret  of  rule,  his 
rule  shall  endure.  Setting  the  taproot  deep  and 
making  the  spreading  roots  firm,  this  is  the  way 
to  insure  long  life  to  the  tree. 


Ancient  Philosophers 

A  HE  skillful  philosophers  of  the  olden  time 
were  subtle,  spiritual,  profound,  and  penetrating. 
They  were  so  deep  as  to  be  incomprehensible. 
Because  they  are  hard  to  comprehend,  I  will  en- 
deavor to  describe  them. 


L  A  O     T  Z  U.      6  0  4     B.  C.  95 

Shrinking  were  they,  like  one  fording  a  stream 
in  winter.  Cautions  were  they,  like  one  who 
fears  an  attack  from  any  quarter.  Circumspect 
were  they,  Hke  a  stranger  guest;  self-effacing,  like 
ice  about  to  melt;  simple,  like  unpolished  wood; 
vacant,  like  a  valley;   opaque,  like  muddy  water. 


On  the  Nature  of  Things 

z\MONG  mankind  the  recognition  of  beauty 
as  such  implies  the  idea  of  ugliness,  and  the 
recognition  of  good  implies  the  idea  of  evil. 

There  is  the  same  mutual  relation  between  ex- 
istence and  non-existence  in  the  matter  of  crea- 
tion; between  difficulty  and  ease  in  the  matter 
of  accomplishing;  between  long  and  short  in  the 
matter  of  form;  between  high  and  low  in  the 
matter  of  elevation;  between  treble  and  bass  in 
the  matter  of  musical  pitch;  between  fore  and 
after  in  the  matter  of  priority. 

Nature  is  not  benevolent;  with  ruthless  indif- 
ference she  makes  all  things  serve  their  purposes, 
like  the  straw  dogs  we  use  at  sacrifices.  The  sage 
is  not  benevolent;  he  utilizes  the  people  with  the 
like  inexorability. 

Heaven  and  Earth  are  long-lasting.  The  rea- 
son why  Heaven  and  Earth  can  last  long  is  that 


96   THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  CHINESE 

they  live  not  for  themselves,  and  thus  they  are 
able  to  endure. 

Thirty  spokes  unite  in  one  nave;  the  utility 
of  the  cart  depends  on  the  hollow  center  in  which 
the  axle  turns.  Clay  is  molded  into  a  vessel; 
the  utility  of  the  vessel  depends  on  its  hollow 
interior.  Doors  and  windows  are  cut  out  in  order 
to  make  a  house;  the  utility  of  the  house  de- 
pends on  the  empty  spaces. 


Thus,  while  the  existence  of  things  may  be 
good,  it  is  the  non-existent  in  them  which  makes 
them   serviceable. 


Cast  off  your  hohness,  rid  yourself  of  sagacity, 
and  the  people  will  benefit  a  hundredfold.  Dis- 
card benevolence  and  abolish  righteousness,  and 
people  will  return  to  filial  piety  and  paternal  love. 
Renounce  your  scheming,  and  abandon  gain,  and 
thieves  and  robbers  will  disappear. 

These  three  precepts  mean  that  outward  show 
is  insufficient,  and  therefore  they  bid  us  be  true 
to  our  proper  nature,  to  show  simplicity,  to  em- 
brace plain  dealing,  to  reduce  selfishness  to 
moderate  desire. 


L  A  O    T  Z  U.      6  O  4     B.  c.  97 

He  who  knows  others  is  clever,  but  he  who 
knows  himself  is  enlightened. 

He  who  overcomes  others  is  strong,  but  he  who 
overcomes  himself  is  mightier  stilL 

He  is  rich  who  knows  when  he  has  enough. 

He  who  acts  with  energy  has  strength  of  pur- 
pose. 

He  who  moves  not  from  his  proper  place  is 
long-lasting. 

He  who  dies,  but  perishes  not,  enjoys  true 
longevity. 

If  you  would  contract,  you  must  first  expand. 
If  you  would  weaken,  you  must  first  strengthen. 
If  you  would  overthrow,  you  must  first  raise 
up. 

If  you  would  take,  you  must  first  give. 
This  is  called  the  dawn  of  intelligence. 


He  who  is  most  perfect,  seems  to  be  lacking; 
yet  his  resources  are  never  outworn. 


He  who  is  most  full  seems  vacant;    yet   his 
uses  are  inexhaustible. 


98   THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  CHINESE 

Extreme  straightness  is  as  bad  as  crookedness. 
Extreme  cleverness  is  as  bad  as  folly.  Extreme 
fluency  is  as  bad  as  stammering. 


Those  who  know  do  not  speak;  those  who 
speak  do  not  know. 

He  who  acts,  destroys;  he  who  grasps,  loses. 
Therefore  the  Sage  does  not  act,  and  so  does  not 
destroy;  he  does  not  grasp,  and  so  he  does  not 
lose. 

The  Sage  does  not  care  to  hoard.  The  more 
he  uses  for  the  benefit  of  others,  the  more  he 
possesses  himself.  The  more  he  gives  to  his 
fellow-men,  the  m^ore  he  has  of  his  own. 


LAO    TZU 

WU-WEI 


LAO    TZU 

WU-WEI 

JL/0  nothing  by  self-will,  but  rather  conform  to 
the  Infinite  Will,  and  everything  will  be  done 
for  you. 

Who  is  there  that  can  make  muddy  water 
clear?  But  if  allowed  to  remain  still,  it  will  be- 
come clear  of  itself.  Who  is  there  that  can  secure 
a  state  of  absolute  repose?  But  let  time  go  on, 
and  the  state  of  repose  will  gradually  arise. 


Tao  is  eternally  inactive,  and  yet  it  leaves 
nothing  undone.  If  the  princes  and  kings  could 
but  hold  fast  to  this  principle,  all  things  would 
work  out  their  own  reformation.  If,  having  re- 
formed, they  still  desire  to  act,  I  w^ould  have 
them  restrained  by  the  simplicity  of  the  Nameless 
Tao. 

The  simplicity  of  the  Nameless  Tao  brings 
about   an   absence   of  desire.     The   absence   of 

lOI 


1 02     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

desire  gives  tranquillity.     And  thus  the  empire 
will  rectify  itself. 


The  softest  things  in  the  world  override  the 
hardest.  That  which  has  no  substance  enters 
where  there  is  no  crevice.  Hence  I  know  the 
advantage  of  inaction. 


Without  going  out  of  doors,  one  may  know 
the  whole  world;  without  looking  out  of  the 
window,  one  may  see  the  Way  of  Heaven.  The 
further  one  travels,  the  less  one  may  know.  Thus 
it  is  that  without  moving  you  shall  know,  with- 
out looking  you  shall  see,  without  doing  you  shall 
achieve. 

« 

The  pursuit  of  book  learning  brings  about 
daily  increase.  The  practice  of  Tao  brings  about 
daily  loss.  Repeat  this  loss  again  and  again, 
and  you  arrive  at  inaction.  Practice  inaction, 
and  there  is  nothing  which  cannot  be  done. 


Desire  not  to  desire,  and  you  will  not  value 
things  difficult  to  obtain.     Learn  not  to  learn, 


L  A  O     T  Z  U  1 03 

and  you  will  revert  to  a  condition  which  man- 
kind in  general  has  lost. 


Leave  all  things  to  take  their  natural  course, 
and  do  not  interfere. 


On  Self-display 

/\LL  things  in  nature  work  silently.  They  come 
into  being  and  possess  nothing.  They  fulfill  their 
functions  and  make  no  claim. 


When  merit  has  been  achieved,  do  not  take  it 
to  yourself;  for  if  you  do  not  take  it  to  yourself, 
it  shall  never  be  taken  from  you. 


Keep  behind,  and  you  shall  be  put    in  front; 
keep  out,  and  you  shall  be  kept  in. 

Goodness  strives  not,  and  therefore  it  is  not 
rebuked. 

He  that   humbles   himself  shall   be   preserved 
entire.     He  that  bends  shall  be  made  straight. 


1 04     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

He  that  is  empty  shall  be  filled.  He  that  is  worn 
out  shall  be  renewed.  He  who  has  little  shall 
succeed.     He  who  has  much  shall  go  astray. 

• 

He  who,  conscious  of  being  strong,  is  content 
to  be  weak,  —  he  shall  be  the  paragon  of  man- 
kind. 

Being  the  paragon  of  mankind.  Virtue  will 
never  desert  him.  He  returns  to  the  state  of  a 
little  child. 

He  who,  conscious  of  his  own  light,  is  content 
to  be  obscure,  —  he  shall  be  the  whole  world's 
model;  his  Virtue  will  never  fail.  He  reverts  to 
the  Absolute. 

He  who  is  great,  must  make  humility  his  base. 
He  who  is  high,  must  make  lowliness  his  founda- 
tion. Thus  princes  and  kings  in  speaking  of 
themselves  use  the  terms  "lonely,"  ** friendless," 
"of  small  account."  Is  not  this  making  humility 
their  base? 


Thus  it  is  said  that  "Some  things  are  increased 
by   being  diminished,   others  are   diminished  by 


LAO     TZU  105 

being  increased."  What  others  have  taught,  I 
also  teach;  verily,  I  will  make  it  the  root  of  my 
teaching. 

Therefore  the  Sage,  wishing  to  be  above  the 
people,  must  by  his  words  put  himself  below 
them;  wishing  to  be  before  the  people,  he  must 
put  himself  behind  them.  In  this  way,  though 
he  has  his  place  above  them,  people  do  not  feel 
his  weight;  though  he  has  his  place  before  them, 
they  do  not  feel  it  an  injury.  Therefore  all 
mankind  delight  to  exalt  him,  and  weary  of  him 
not. 

I  have  three  precious  things  which  I  hold  fast 
and  prize.  The  first  is  gentleness;  the  second  is 
frugality;  the  third  is  humility,  which  keeps  me 
from  putting  myself  before  others.  Be  gentle, 
and  you  can  be  bold;  be  frugal,  and  you  can  be 
liberal;  avoid  putting  yourself  before  others,  and 
you  can  become  a  leader  among  men. 

• 

Gentleness  brings  victory  to  him  who  attacks, 
and  safety  to  him  who  defends.  Those  whom 
Heaven  would  save,  it  fences  round  with  gentle- 
ness. 


I06     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

The  best  soldiers  are  not  warlike;  the  best 
fighters  do  not  lose  their  temper.  The  greo,test 
conquerors  are  those  who  overcome  their  enemxies 
without  strife.  The  greatest  directors  of  men  are 
those  who  yield  place  to  others.  This  is  called 
the  Virtue  of  not  striving,  the  capacity  for  direct- 
ing mankind;  this  is  being  the  compeer  of 
Heaven.    It  vv^as  the  highest  goal  of  the  ancients. 


N( 


On  Ruling  the  People 


'OT  exalting  worth  keeps  the  people  from 
rivalry.  Not  prizing  what  is  hard  to  procure 
keeps  the  people  from  theft.  Not  to  show  them 
what  they  may  covet  is  the  v/ay  to  keep  their 
minds  from  disorder. 


He  who  respects  the  State  as  his  own  person 
is  fit  to  govern  it.  He  v/ho  loves  the  State  as 
his  own  body  is  fit  to  be  intrusted  with  it. 


In  the  highest  antiquity,  the  people  did  not 
know  that  they  had  rulers.  In  the  next  age, 
they  loved  and  praised  them.  In  the  next,  they 
feared  them.     In  the  next,  they    despised  them, 


LAO     T  Z  U  107 

As  restrictions  and  prohibitions  are  multiplied 
in  the  empire,  the  people  grow  poorer  and  poorer. 
When  the  people  are  subjected  to  overmuch  gov- 
ernment, the  land  is  thrown  into  confusion. 
When  the  people  are  skilled  in  many  cunning 
arts,  strange  are  the  objects  of  luxury  that 
appear. 

The  greater  the  number  of  laws  and  enact- 
ments, the  more  thieves  and  robbers  there  will 
be.  Therefore  the  Sage  says:  "So  long  as  I  do 
nothing,  the  people  wil  work  out  their  own 
reformation.  So  long  as  I  love  calm,  the  people 
will  right  themselves.  If  only  I  keep  from 
meddUng,  the  people  will  grow  rich.  If  only  I 
am  free  from  desire,  the  people  will  come  natu- 
rally back  to  desire." 

Do  not  confine  the  people  within  too  narrow 
bounds;  do  not  make  their  lives  too  weary.  For 
if  you  do  not  weary  them  of  life,  they  will  not 
then  grow  weary  of  you. 


Were    I    ruler  of  a  little  State  with  a  small 
population,    with   only   ten   or   a   hundred   men 


I08     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

available  as  soldiers,  I  would  not  use  them.  I 
would  have  the  people  look  on  death  as  a  griev- 
ous thing,  and  they  should  not  travel  to  distant 
countries.  Though  they  might  possess  boats  and 
carriages,  they  should  have  no  occasion  to  ride 
in  them.  Though  they  might  own  weapons  and 
armor,  they  should  have  no  need  to  use  them. 
I  would  make  people  return  to  the  use  of  knotted 
cords.  They  should  find  their  plain  food  sweet, 
their  rough  garments  fine.  They  should  be  con- 
tent with  their  simple  homes,  and  happy  in  their 
simple  ways.  If  a  neighboring  State  was  within 
sight  of  mine  —  nay,  if  we  were  close  enough  to 
hear  the  crowing  of  each  other's  cocks  and  the 
barking  of  each  other's  dogs  —  the  two  peoples 
should  grow  old  and  die  without  there  ever  hav- 
ing been  any  mutual  intercourse. 


LAO    TZU 

PRECEPTS   AND   SAYINGS 


LAO    TZU 

PRECEPTS  AND   SAYINGS 


B 


►Y  many  words  wit  is  exhausted;  it  is  better 
to  preserve  a  mean. 


He  who  grasps  more  than  he  can  hold,  would 
be  better  without  any. 

If  a  house  is  crammed  with  treasures  of  gold 
and  jade,  it  will  be  impossible  to  guard  them  all. 


The  excellence  of  a  dwelling  is  in  its  site;  the 
excellence  of  a  mind  in  its  profundity;  the  ex- 
cellence of  giving  is  charitableness;  the  excel- 
lence of  speech  is  truthfulness;  the  excellence  of 
government  is  order;  the  excellence  of  action  is 
abihty;   the  excellence  of  movement  is  timeliness. 


He  who  prides  himself  upon  wealth  and  honor 
hastens  his  own  downfall. 

Ill 


112     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

He  who  strikes  with  a  sharp  point  will  not 
himself  be  safe  for  long. 


He  who  embraces  unity  of  soul  by  subordinat- 
ing animal  instincts  to  reason  will  be  able  to 
escape  dissolution.  He  who  strives  his  utmost 
after  tenderness  can  become  even  as  a  little  child. 


If  a  man  is  clear-headed  and  intelligent,  can 
he  be  without  knowledge? 


The  Sage  attends  to  the  inner  and  not  to  the 
outer;  he  puts  away  the  objective  and  holds  to 
the  subjective. 

Between  yes  and  yea,  how  small  the  difference! 
Between  good  and  evil,  how  great  the  difference! 


What  the  world  reverences  may  not  be  treated 
with  respect. 

He  who  has  no  faith  in  others  shall  find  no 
faith  in  them. 


L  A  O     T  Z  U  113 

To  see  oneself  is  to  be  clear  of  sight.     Mighty 
is  he  who  conquers  himself. 


•  • 


He  who  raises  hims-elf  on  tiptoe  cannot  stand 
firm;  he  who  stretches  his  legs  wide  apart  can- 
not walk. 


Racing   and    hunting    excite    man's    heart    to 
madness. 


The  struggle  for  rare  possessions  drives  a  man 
to  actions  injurious  to  himself. 


The  heavy  is  the  foundation  of  the  light;    re- 
pose is  the  ruler  of  unrest. 


The  wise  prince  in  his  daily  course  never  de- 
parts from  gravity  and  repose.  Though  he 
possess  a  gorgeous  palace,  he  will  dwell  therein 
w^ith  calm  indifference.  How  should  the  lord  of 
a  million  chariots  conduct  himself  in  the  empire? 
Levity  loses  men's  hearts;  unrest  loses  the 
throne. 


114     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

The  skillful  traveler  leaves  no  tracks;  the  skill- 
ful speaker  makes  no  blunders;  the  skillful  reck- 
oner uses  no  tallies.  He  who  knows  how  to  shut, 
uses  no  bolts;  yet  you  cannot  open.  He  who 
knows  how  to  bind,  uses  no  cords;  yet  you  can- 
not  undo. 


Among  men,  reject  none;  among  things,  reject 
nothing.  This  is  called  comprehensive  intelli- 
gence. 

The  good  man  is  the  bad  man's  teacher;  the 
bad  man  is  the  material  upon  which  the  good 
man  works.  If  the  one  does  not  value  his  teacher, 
if  the  other  does  not  love  his  material,  then 
despite  their  sagacity  they  must  go  far  astray. 
This  is  a  mystery  of  great  import. 


The  course  of  things  is  such  that  v.hat  was  in 
front  is  now  behind;  what  was  hot  is  now  cold; 
what  was  strong  is  now  weak;  what  was  comi- 
plete  is  now  in  ruin.  Therefore  the  Sage  avoids 
excess,  extravagance,   and  grandeur. 


L  A  O     T  Z  U  115 

Which  is  nearer  to  you,  fame  or  life?  Which  is 
more  to  you,  hfe  or  wealth?  Which  is  the  greater 
malady,  gain  or  loss? 


Excessive  ambitions  necessarily  entail  great 
sacrifices.  Much  hoarding  must  be  followed  by 
heavy  loss.  He  who  knows  when  he  has  enough 
will  not  be  put  to  shame.  Such  a  man  can  look 
forward  to  long  life. 


There  is  no  sin  greater  than  ambition ;  no  calam- 
ity greater  than  discontent;  no  vice  more  sicken- 
ing than  covetousness.  He  who  is  content,  al- 
ways has  enough. 


Do  not  wish  to  be  rare  like  jade,  nor  common 
like  stone. 


The  Sage  has  no  hard  and  fast  ideas,  but  he 
shares  the  ideas  of  the  people  and  makes  them 
his  own.  Living  in  the  world,  he  is  apprehen- 
sive lest  his  heart  be  sullied  by  contact  with  the 
world.  The  people  all  fix  their  eyes  and  ears  upon 
him.    The  Sage  looks  upon  all  as  his  children. 


Il6     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

I  have  heard  that  he  who  possesses  the  secret 
of  hfe,  when  travehng  abroad,  will  not  flee  from 
rhinoceros  or  tiger;  when  entering  a  hostile  camp, 
he  will  not  equip  himself  with  sword  or  buckler. 
The  rhinoceros  fmds  in  him  no  place  to  insert  his 
horn;  the  tiger  has  nowhere  to  fasten  its  claw; 
the  soldier  has  nowhere  to  thrust  his  blade. 
And  why?  Because  he  has  no  spot  where  death 
can  enter. 


To  see  small  beginnings  is  clearness  of  sight. 
To  rest  in  weakness  is  strength. 


He  who  know^s  how  to  plant,  shall  not  have 
his  plant  uprooted;  he  who  knows  hovv^  to  hold 
a  thing,  shall  not  have  it  taken  away.  Sons  and 
grandsons  shall  worship  at  his  shrine,  which  shall 
endure  for  generations. 


Knowledge  in  harmony  is  called  constant. 
Constant  knowledge  is  called  wisdom.  Increase 
of  life  is  called  felicity.  The  mind  directing  the 
body  is  called  strength. 


LAO     TZU  117 

Be  square  without  being  angular.  Be  honest 
without  being  mean.  Be  upright  without  being 
punctilious.     Be  brilliant  without  being  showy. 


Good  words  shall  gain  you  honor  in  the  market- 
place, but  good  deeds  shall  gain  you  friends 
among  men. 

To  the  good  I  would  be  good;  to  the  not-good 
I  would  also  be  good  in  order  to  make  them 
good. 

With  the  faithful  I  would  keep  faith;  with  the 
unfaithful  I  v/ould  also  keep  faith,  in  order  that 
they  may  become  faithful. 

• 

Even  if  a  man  is  bad,  how  can  it  be  right  to 
cast  him  off? 

Requite  injury  with  kindness. 


The  difficult  things  of  this  world  must  once 
have  been  easy;  the  great  things  of  this  v^'orld 
must  once  have  been  small.     Set  about  difficult 


Il8     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

things  while  they  are  still  easy;   do  great  things 
while  they  are  still  small. 


The  Sage  never  affects  to  do  anything  great, 
and  therefore  he  is  able  to  achieve  his  great 
results. 

He  who  always  thinks  things  easy,  is  sure  to 
find  them  difficult.  Therefore  the  Sage  ever 
anticipates  difficulties,  and  thus  it  is  he  never 
encounters    them. 

While  times  are  quiet,  it  is  easy  to  take  action; 
ere  coming  troubles  have  cast  their  shadows,  it 
is  easy  to  lay  plans. 

That  which  is  brittle  is  easily  broken;  that 
which  is  minute  is  easily  dissipated.  Take  pre- 
cautions before  the  evil  appears;  regulate  things 
before  disorder  has  begun. 


The  tree  which  needs  two  arms  to  span  its 
girth  sprang  from  the  tiniest  shoot.  Yon  tower, 
nine  stories  high,   rose   from  a  little  mound  of 


LAO     T  Z  U  119 

earth.    A  journey  of  a  thousand  miles  began  with 
a  single  step. 

The  Sage  knows  what  is  in  him,  but  makes  no 
display;  he  respects  himself,  but  seeks  not  honor 
for  himself. 


To  know,  but  to  be  as  though  not  knowing,  is 
the  height  of  wisdom.  Not  to  know  and  yet  to 
affect  knowledge,  is  a  vice.  If  we  regard  this 
vice  as  such,  we  shall  escape  it.  The  Sage  has 
not  this  vice.  It  is  because  he  regards  it  as  a 
vice  that  he  escapes  it. 


Use  the  light  that  is  in  you  to  revert  to  your 
natural  clearness  of  sight.  Then  the  loss  of  the 
body  is  unattended  with  calamity.  This  is  called 
doubly  enduring. 

In  the  management  of  affairs,  people  con- 
stantly break  down  just  when  they  are  nearing  a 
successful  issue.  If  they  took  as  much  care  at 
the  end  as  at  the  beginning,  they  would  not  fail 
in  their  enterprises. 


120     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

He  who  lightly  promises,  is  sure  to  keep    but 
little  faith. 


He  whose  boldness  leads  him  to  venture,  will 
be  slain;  he  who  is  brave  enough  not  to  venture, 
will  live.  Of  these  two,  one  has  the  benefit,  the 
other  has  the  hurt.  But  who  is  it  that  knovvs 
the  real  cause  of  Heaven's  hatred?  This  is  why 
the  Sage  hesitates  and  fmds  it  difficult  to  act. 


The    violent    and    stiff-necked    die    not    by    a 
natural  death. 

True  words  are  not  fine;    fine  words  are  not 
true. 


CHUANG    TZU.     400  b.  c. 
RIGHT  AND  WRONG 


CHUANG    TZU.     400  b.  c. 

RIGHT   AND   WRONG 

X  HOSE  who  would  have  right  without  its  cor- 
relative, wrong,  or  good  government  without  its 
correlative,  misrule,  —  they  do  not  apprehend 
the  great  principles  of  the  universe  nor  the  con- 
ditions to  which  all  creation  is  subject.  One 
might  as  well  talk  of  the  existence  of  heaven 
without  that  of  earth,  or  of  the  negative  prin- 
ciple without  the  positive,  which  is  clearly  absurd. 

• 
•         • 

The  True  Standard 

If  you  adopt,  as  absolute,  a  standard  of  even- 
ness which  is  so  only  relatively,  your  results  will 
not  be  absohitely  even.  If  you  adopt,  as  abso- 
lute, a  criterion  of  right  which  is  so  only  rela- 
tively, your  results  will  not  be  absolutely  right. 
Those  who  trust  to  their  senses  become  slaves  to 
objective  existences.  Those  alone  who  are  guided 
by  their  intuitions  find  the  true  standard.     So 

far  are  the  senses  less  reliable  than  the  intui- 

123 


124     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

tions.  Yet  fools  trust  to  their  senses  to  know 
what  is  good  for  mankind,  with  alas!  but  ex- 
ternal results. 

On  Consciousness 

y\  DRUNKEN  man  who  falls  out  of  a  cart, 
though  he  may  suffer,  does  not  die.  His  bones 
are  the  same  as  other  people's,  but  he  meets  his 
accident  in  a  different  way.  His  spirit  is  in  a 
condition  of  security.  He  is  not  conscious  of 
riding  in  the  cart;  neither  is  he  conscious  of  fall- 
ing out  of  it.  Ideas  of  hfe,  death,  fear,  etc.,  can- 
not penetrate  his  breast;  and  so  he  does  not 
fear  from  contact  with  objective  existences.  :.:, 
And  if  such  security  is  to  be  got  from  wine, 
how  much  more  is  it  to  be  got  from  God?  It 
is  in  God  that  the  Sage  seeks  his  refuge,  and 
so  he  is  free  from  harm. 


Knowledge  and  Attainment 

xIE  who  knows  what  God  is,  and  who  knows 
what  man  is,  has  attained.  Knowing  ^^^hat  God 
is,  he  knovvs  that  he  himself  proceeded  there- 
from. Knowing  what  man  is,  he  rests  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  known,  waiting  for  the  knowl- 


CHUANG     TZU.      4OO     B.C.  I25 

edge  of  the  unknown.  Working  out  one's  al- 
lotted span,  and  not  perishing  in  mid-career,  — 
this  is  the  fullness  of  knowledge. 

Herein,  however,  there  is  a  flaw.  Knowledge 
is  dependent  upon  fulfillment,  and  as  this  ful- 
fillment is  uncertain,  how  can  it  be  known  that 
my  divine  is  not  really  human,  my  human  really 
divine? 

We  must  have  pure  men,  and  then  only  can 
we  have  pure  knowledge. 


The  Natural  Order 

1\  MAN  must  go  wheresoever  his  parents  bid 
him.  Nature  is  no  other  than  a  man's  parents. 
If  she  bid  me  die  quickly,  and  I  demur,  then  I 
am  an  unfilial  son.  She  can  do  me  no  wrong. 
Tao  gives  me  this  form,  this  toil  in  manhood, 
this  repose  in  old  age,  this  rest  in  death.  And 
surely,  that  which  is  such  a  kind  arbiter  of  my 
life  is  the  best  arbiter  of  my  death. 


How  do  I  know  that  love  of  life  is  not  a  de- 
lusion after  all?  How  do  I  know  but  that  he 
who  dreads  to  die  is  as  a  child  who  has  lost  its 
way  and  cannot  find  its  home? 


126     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 


Bi 


The  Soul 


►UT  whether  or  not  we  ascertain  what  are  the 
functions  of  this  soul,  it  matters  but  little  to  the 
soul  itself.  For,  coming  into  existence  with  this 
mortal  coil  of  mine,  with  the  exhaustion  of  this 
mortal  coil  its  mandate  will  also  be  exhausted. 
To  be  harassed  by  the  wear  and  tear  of  life,  and 
to  pass  rapidly  through  it  without  possibility  of 
arresting  one's  course,  —  is  this  not  pitiful  in- 
deed? To  labor  without  ceasing,  and  then,  with- 
out living  to  enjoy  the  fruit,  worn  out,  to  depart 
suddenly,  one  knows  not  whither,  —  is  not  that 
a  just  cause  for  grief? 


-^    Objective  and  Subjective 

W  HAT  advantage  is  there  in  what  men  call 
not  dying?  The  body  decomposes  and  the  mind 
goes  with  it.  This  is  our  real  cause  for  sorrow. 
Can  the  world  be  so  dull  as  not  to  see  this?  Or 
is  it  I  alone  who  am  dull,  and  others  not  so?  .  .  . 
There  is  nothing  which  is  not  objective;  there  is 
nothing  which  is  not  subjective.  But  it  is  im- 
possible to  start  from  the  objective.  Only  from 
subjective  knowledge  is  it  possible  to  proceed  to 


CHUANG     TZU.      4OO     B.C.  I27 

objective  knowledge.  Hence  it  has  been  said: 
"The  objective  emanates  from  the  subjective; 
the  subjective  is  consequent  upon  the  objective. 
This  is  the  Alternation  Theory."  Nevertheless, 
when  one  is  born,  the  other  dies.  When  one  is 
possible,  the  other  is  impossible.  When  one  is 
afUrmative,  the  other  is  negative.  Which  being 
the  case,  the  true  Sage  rejects  all  distinctions  of 
this  and  that.  He  takes  his  refuge  in  God,  and 
places  himself  in  subjective  relation  with  all 
things. 


On  Life  and  Death 

Life  follows  upon  death.  Death  is  the  begin- 
ning of  life.  Who  knows  when  the  end  is 
reached?  The  life  of  man  results  from  converg- 
ence of  the  vital  fluid.  Its  convergence  is  life; 
its  dispersion,  death.  If,  then,  hfe  and  death 
are  but  consecutive  states,  what  need  have  I  to 
complain? 

Therefore  all  things  are  One.  What  we  love  is 
animation.  What  we  hate  is  corruption.  But 
corruption  in  its  turn  becomes  animation,  and 
animation  once  more  becomes  corruption. 


128     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

Predestination  involves  a  real  existence. 
Chance  implies  an  absolute  absence  of  any 
principle.  To  have  a  name  and  the  embodiment 
thereof,  —  this  is  to  have  a  material  existence. 
To  have  no  name  and  no  embodiment,  —  of  this 
one  can  speak  and  think;  but  the  more  one 
speaks,  the  farther  off  one  gets. 


The  unborn  creature  cannot  be  kept  from  life. 
The  dead  cannot  be  tracked.  From  birth  to 
death  is  but  a  span;  yet  the  secret  cannot  be 
known.  Chance  and  predestination  are  but  a 
priori  solutions. 


Infinite 

HEN  I  seek  for  a  beginning,  I  fmd  only  time 
infinite.  When  I  look  forward  to  an  end,  I  see 
only  time  infinite.  Infinity  of  time  past  and  to 
come  implies  no  beginning  and  is  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  material  existences.  Predesti- 
nation and  Chance  give  us  a  beginning,  but  one 
which  is  compatible  only  with  the  existence  of 
matter. 


CHUANG     TZU.      4OO     B.C.  I29 

A  man's  knowledge  is  limited;  but  it  is  upon 
what  he  does  not  know  that  he  depends  to 
extend  his  knowledge  to  the  apprehension  of  God. 


The  ultimate  end  is  God.  He  is  manifested  in 
the  laws  of  nature.  He  is  the  hidden  spring.  At 
the  beginning  he  was.  This,  however,  is  inex- 
phcable.  It  is  unknowable.  But  from  the  un- 
knowable we  reach  the  known. 


A  vulgar  proverb  says  that  he  who  has  heard 
but  part  of  the  truth  thinks  no  one  equal  to 
himself.    And  such  a  one  am  I. 

"When  formerly  I  heard  people  detracting 
from  the  learning  of  Confucius  or  underrating 
the  heroism  of  Poh  I,  I  did  not  believe.  But  now 
that  I  have  looked  upon  your  inexhaustibility  — 
alas  for  me!  had  I  not  reached  your  abode,  I 
should  have  been  forever  a  laughingstock  to 
those  of  comprehensive  enhghtenment!" 

To  which  the  Spirit  of  the  Ocean  rephed: 
"You  cannot  speak  of  ocean  to  a  well-frog,  the 
creature  of  a  narrower  sphere.  You  cannot  speak 
of  ice  to  a  summer  insect,  a  creature  of  a  season. 
You  cannot  speak  of  Tao  to  a  pedagogue;    his 


130     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

scope  is  too  restricted.  But  now  that  you  have 
emerged  from  your  narrow  sphere  and  have  seen 
the  great  ocean,  you  know  your  own  insignifi- 
cance, and  I  can  speak  to  you  of  great  principles." 


Finality 

JJlMENSIONS  are  limitless;  time  is  endless; 
Conditions  are  not  invariable;  terms  are  not  final. 
Thus  the  wise  man  looks  into  space,  and  does  not 
regard  the  small  as  too  little,  nor  the  great  as 
too  much;  for  he  knows  that  there  is  no  limit  to 
dimension.  He  looks  back  into  the  past,  and 
does  not  grieve  over  what  is  far  off,  nor  rejoice 
over  what  is  near;  for  he  knows  that  time  is 
without  end.  He  investigates  fullness  and  decay, 
and  does  not  rejoice  if  he  succeeds,  nor  lament 
if  he  fails;  for  he  knows  that  conditions  are  not 
invariable.  He  who  clearly  apprehends  the 
scheme  of  existence  does  not  rejoice  over  life, 
nor  repine  at  death;  for  he  knows  that  terms 
are  not  final. 


Ti 


Natural  Instincts 


HE  people  have  certain  natural  instincts:   to 
weave  and  clothe  themselves,   to  till  and  feed 


CHUANG     TZU.      4  O  O     B.  C.  I3I 

themselves.  These  are  common  to  all  humanity, 
and  all  are  agreed  thereon.  Such  instincts  are 
called  "Heaven-sent." 

And  so  in  the  days  when  natural  instincts  pre- 
vailed, men  moved  quietly  and  gazed  steadily. 
At  that  time,  there  were  no  roads  over  moun- 
tains, nor  boats,  nor  bridges  over  water.  All 
things  were  produced,  each  for  its  own  proper 
sphere.  Birds  and  beasts  multiplied;  trees  and 
shrubs  grew  up. 

The  foiTner  might  be  led  by  the  hand;  you 
could  climb  up  and  peep  in  the  raven's  nest.  For 
then  man  dwelt  with  birds  and  beasts,  and  all 
creation  was  one. 

There  were  no  distinctions  of  good  and  bad 
men.  Being  all  equally  without  knowledge,  their 
virtue  could  not  go  astray. 

Being  all  equally  without  evil  desires,  they  were 
in  a  state  of  natural  integrity,  the  perfection  of 
human  existence. 

But  when  Sages  appeared,  tripping  up  people 
over  charity  and  fettering  them  with  duty  to 
their  neighbor,  doubt  found  its  way  into  the 
world. 

And  then,  with  their  gushing  over  music  and 
fussing  over  ceremony,  the  empire  became  divided 
against  itself. 


132     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

When  Chuang  Tzu  was  about  to  die,  his  dis- 
ciples expressed  a  wish  to  give  him  a  splendid 
funeral.  But  Chuang  Tzu  said:  "With  heaven 
and  earth  for  my  coffin  and  shell;  with  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars  as  my  burial  regalia;  and  with 
all  creation  to  escort  me  to  the  grave,  —  are  not 
my  funeral  paraphernalia  ready  to  hand?" 

"We  fear,"  argued  the  disciples,  "lest  the 
carrion  kite  should  eat  the  body  of  our  master;" 
to  which  Chuang  Tzu  replied:  "Above  ground  I 
shall  be  food  for  kites;  below  I  shall  be  food  for 
mole-crickets  and  ants.  Why  rob  one  to  feed 
the  other?" 

m 

A  man  who  knows  that  he  is  a  fool  is  not  a 
great  fool. 

A  dog  is  not  considered  a  good  dog  because  he 
is  a  good  barker.  A  man  is  not  considered  a 
good  man  because  he  is  a  good  talker. 


Get  rid  of  small  wisdom,  and  great  wisdom  will 
shine  upon  you. 

Put  away  goodness,  and  you  will  be  naturally 
good.     A  child  does  not  learn  to  speak  because 


CHUANG     TZU.       4OO     B.C.  I33 

taught  by  professors  of  the  art,  but  because  it 
lives  among  people  who  can  themselves  speak. 

• 

The  best  language  is  that  which  is  not  spoken, 
the  best  form  of  action  is  that  which  is  without 
deeds. 

Spread  out  your  knowledge,  and  it  will  be 
found  to  be  shallow. 

The  perfect  man  ignores  self;  the  divine  man 
ignores  action;    the  true  Sage  ignores  reputation. 

• 
•         • 

Severance 

1  HE  perfect  man  is  a  spiritual  being.  Were 
the  ocea,n  itself  scorched  up,  he  would  not  feel 
hot.  Were  the  Milky  Way  frozen  hard,  he  would 
not  feel  cold.  Were  the  mountains  to  be  riven 
with  thunder,  and  the  great  deep  to  be  thrown 
up  by  storm,  he  would  not  tremble. 

Birth  is  not  a  beginning;   death  is  not  an  end. 

Let  knowledge  stop  at  the  unknowable.  That 
is  perfection. 


YANG    CHU.     300  B.C. 
FAME  AND  VANITY 


YANG    CHU.     300  B.C. 

FAME  AND   VANITY 

1  ANG  CHU,  when  traveling  in  Lu,  put  up  at 
Meng  Sun  Yang's. 

Meng  asked  him:  *'A  man  can  never  be  more 
than  a  man;  why  do  people  still  trouble  them- 
selves about  famxe?" 

Yang  Chu  answered:  "If  they  do  so,  their 
object  is  to  become  rich." 

Meng:  ''And  when  they  have  become  rich, 
why  do  they  not  stop?" 

Yang  Chu  said:   "They  aim  at  getting  honors." 

Meng:  "Why  then  do  they  not  stop  when 
they  have  got  them?" 

Yang  Chu:    "On  account  of  their  death." 

Meng:  "But  what  can  they  desire  still  after 
their  death?" 

Yang  Chu:    "They  think  of  their  posterity." 

Meng:  "But  how  can  their  fame  be  available 
to  their  posterity?" 

Yang  Chu:  "For  fame's  sake  they  endure  all 
kinds  of  bodily  hardship  and  mental  pain.    They 

137 


138     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

dispose  of  their  gloiy  for  the  benefit  of  their 
clan,  and  even  their  fellow-citizens  profit  by  it. 
How  much  more  so  do  their  descendants!  How- 
beit  it  becomes  those  desirous  of  real  fame  to 
be  disinterested,  and  disinterestedness  means 
poverty;  and  likewise  they  must  be  unostenta- 
tious, and  this  is  equivalent  to  humble  condition." 

• 

How  then  can  fame  be  disregarded,  and  how 
can  fame  come  of  itself? 

The  ignorant,  while  seeking  to  maintain  fame, 
sacrifice  reality.  By  doing  so,  they  will  have  to 
regret  that  nothing  can  rescue  them  from  danger 
and  death,  and  not  only  learn  the  difference  be- 
tween ease  and  pleasure  and  sorrow  and  grief. 

If  anybody  has  real  greatness,  he  is  poor;  if 
his  greatness  is  spurious,  he  is  rich. 

The  really  good  man  is  not  famous;  if  he  be 
famous,  he  is  not  really  a  good  man,  for  all  fame 
is  nothing  but  falsehood. 

One  hundred  years  is  the  limit  of  a  long  life. 
Not  on^  in  a  thousand  ever  attains  to  it.    Yet  if 


YANGCHU.      300     B.  C.  I39 

they  do,   still  unconscious   infancy   and  old  age 
take  up  about  half  this  time. 


What  then  is  the  object  of  human  life?  What 
makes  it  pleasant?  Comfort  and  elegance,  music 
and  beauty.  Yet  one  cannot  ahvays  gratify  the 
desire  for  comfort  and  elegance,  nor  incessantly 
enjoy  beauty  and  music. 


Besides  being  warned  and  exhorted  by  punish- 
ments and  rewards,  urged  forward  and  repelled 
by  fame  and  laws,  men  are  constantly  rendered 
anxious.  Striving  for  one  vain  hour  of  glory, 
and  providing  for  the  splendor  which  is  to  sur- 
vive their  death,  they  go  their  solitary  ways, 
analyzing  what  they  hear  with  their  ears  and  see 
with  their  eyes,  and  carefully  considering  what 
is  good  for  body  and  mind;  so  they  lose  the 
happiest  moments  of  the  present,  and  cannot 
really  give  way  to  these  feelings  for  one  hour. 


If  you  pay  no  regard  to  life  or  death,  and  let 
them  be  as  they  are,  how  can  you  be  anxious 
lest  your  life  should  end  too  soon? 


140     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

Every  trace  of  intelligent  and  stupid  men,  of 
the  beautiful  and  ugly,  successful  and  unsuccess- 
ful, right  and  wrong,  is  effaced.  And  whether 
quickly  or  slowly  is  the  only  point    of  difference. 


If  any  one  cares  for  one  hour's  blame  or  praise 
so  much  that,  by  torturing  his  spirit  and  body, 
he  struggles  for  a  name  lasting  some  hundred 
years  after  his  death,  can  the  halo  of  glory  revive 
his  dried  bones,  or  give  him  back  the  joy  of  living? 


If  there  were  a  body  born  complete,  I  could 
not  possess  it,  and  I  could  not  possess  things 
not  to  be  parted  with.  For  possessing  a  body  or 
things  would  be  unlawfully  appropriating  a  body 
belonging  to  the  whole  universe  and  appropriat- 
ing things  belonging  to  the  universe,  which  no 
Sage  would  do. 


He  who  regards  as  common  property  a  body 
appertaining  to  the  universe  and  the  things  of 
the  universe  is  a  perfect  man. 

And  that  is  the  highest  degree  of  perfection. 


y  a  n  g    c  h  u.     3  0  o    b.  c.  i41 

The  Four  Chimeras 

1  HERE  are  four  things  which  do  not  allow 
people  to  rest:  Long  Life;  Reputation;  Rank; 
Riches. 

Those  who  have  them,  fear  ghosts,  fear  men, 
power,  and  punishment.  They  are  ahvays  fugi- 
tives. Whether  they  are  killed  or  live,  they  regu- 
late their  lives  by  externals. 


Those  who  do  not  set  their  destiny  at  defiance, 
do  not  desire  a  long  life;  and  those  who  are  not 
too  fond  of  honor,  do  not  desire  reputation. 


Those  who  do  not  want  power,  desire  no  rank. 


Those  Vv'ho  are  not  avaricious,  have  no  desire 
for  riches. 


KANG-HSrS    SACRED    EDICT 


KANG-HSrS    SACRED    EDICT 

In  eveiy  affair  retire  a  step,  and  you  have  an 
advantage. 


Seeing  men  in  haste,  do  not  seek  to  overtake 
them. 


Each  grass  blade  has  its  drop  of  dew.  The 
wild  birds  lay  up  no  stores;  but  Heaven  and 
Earth  are  wide.  Strange,  indeed,  if  you  cannot 
rest  in  the  duties  of  your  sphere. 


If  you  reject  the  iron,  you  will  never  make  the 
steel. 

To  starve  is  a  small  matter,  to  lose  one's  virtue 
is  a  great  one. 

•         • 

Covet  not  an  empty  name. 

145 


146     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

The  modest  gain,  the  self-satisfied  lose 


The  more  unlikely  I  am  to  be  successful,  the 
more  diligently  will  I  study. 


What  have  I  to  do  with  fate? 


Teach  children  that  in  friendship  one  should 
be  one,  and  two,  two;  there  must  be  no  decep- 
tion. 

Let  the  root  be  good,  and  the  fruit  shallnot 
be  evil. 

Culture  in  manners  will  make  the  blustering 
soldier  view  the  Shi  and  Shu  as  his  coat  of  mail. 


■         • 


Becoming  manners  shall  bring  back  the  lovely 
unity  of  ancient  virtues. 


Do  you  think  that,  by  bearing  with  insulting 
persons,  I  shall  fall  into  dishonor? 


KANG-HSIS     SACRED     EDICT  I47 

Should  right  principles  be  separated  from  right 
manners,  they  would  no  longer  be  right  prin- 
ciples. But  without  sincerity  manners  are  mere 
apish  bowing  and  scraping. 


Those  who  say  conscience  may  be  good  enough, 
but  it  does  not  supply  one  with  food,  are  fit 
materials  for  the  cord  and  the  bamboo. 


Set  not  others  at  variance.  Suppress  slanders, 
and  protect  the  innocent.  Frame  not  indict- 
ments to  defraud  and  oppress. 


Maintain  a  love  of  harmony,  that  throughout 
your  families  the  common  speech  shall  be,  "Let 
us  help  one  another."  Then  shall  the  world  be 
at  peace. 

Let  young  and  old  be  as  one  body,  their  joj-s 
and  sorrows  as  of  one  family. 


Let  the  instructed  lead  the  way  by  example. 
Let  the  unity  of  the  empire  extend  to  myriad 
countries,  and  spread  harmony  through  the  world. 


1 48  THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  CHINESE 

Though  at  the  height  of  fame,  you  ought  in 
the  watches  of  the  night  to  lay  your  hand  on 
your  breast  and  ask  yourself,  "Have  I  cause  of 
shame  or  not?" 


KUAN-YI-WU.     500  B.C. 

ON   LIFE 

ivLLOW  the  ear  to  hear  what  it  likes,  the  eye 
to  see  what  it  likes,  the  mouth  to  say  what  it 
likes,  the  body  to  enjoy  the  comforts  it  likes  to 
have,  and  the  mind  to  do  what  it  likes. 

Now,  what  the  ear  likes  to  hear  is  music,  and 
the  prohibition  of  it  is  what  I  call  obstruction  to 
the  ear. 

What  the  eye  likes  to  look  at  is  beauty,  and 
its  not  being  permitted  to  regard  this  beauty  I 
call  obstruction  of  sight. 

What  the  nose  likes  to  smell  is  perfume,  and 
its  not  being  permitted  to  smell  I  call  obstruc- 
tion to  scent. 

What  the  mouth  likes  to  talk  about  is  right 
and  wrong;  and  if  it  is  not  permitted  to  speak, 
I  call  it  obstruction  of  the  understanding. 

The   comforts    the   body   enjoys   to   have   are 
rich  food  and  fine  clothing,  and  if  it  is  not  per- 
Lt "fitted,  then  I  call  that  obstruction  of  the  senses 
co'f  the  body. 

149 


150     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

What  the  mind  likes  is  to  be  at  peace;  and 
its  not  being  permitted  rest  I  call  obstruction  of 
the  mind's  nature. 

All  these  obstructions  are  a  source  of  the  most 
painful  vexation. 


YU    TSE.     1250  B.C. 

ON   FAME 

JlTE  who  renounces  fame  has  no  sorrow. 

Fame  is  the  follower  of  reahty.  Now,  however, 
as  people  pursue  fame  with  such  frenzy,  does  it 
not  really  come  of  itself  if  it  is  disregarded?  At 
present  fame  means  honor  and  regard.  Lack  of 
fame  brings  humbleness  and  disgrace.  Again,  ease 
and  pleasure  follow  upon  honor  and  regard. 
Sorrow  and  grief  are  contrary  to  human  nature; 
ease  and  pleasure  are  in  accord  with  it.  These 
things  have  reality. 


151 


TSE-CHAN.     550  B.C. 

SUBLIMITY   OF  RIGHTEOUSNESS 

X  HAT  in  which  man  is  superior  to  beasts  and 
birds  is  his  mental  faculties.  Through  them  he 
gets  righteousness  and  propriety,  and  so  glory 
and  rank  fall  to  his  share.  You  are  only  moved 
by  what  excites  your  sense,  and  indulge  only  in 
licentious  desires,  endangering  your  hves  and 
natures. 


Hear  my  words.  Repent  in  the  morning,  and 
in  the  evening  you  will  have  aheady  gained  the 
wage  that  will  support  you. 


152 


THE    POETRY    OF 
THE    CHINESE 


THE  POETRY  OF  THE  CHINESE 

SSU-K'UNG  T'U,  A.D.  834-908 

Jr  REIGHTED  with  eternal  principles 
Athwart  the  night's  void, 
Where  cloud  masses  darken, 
And  the  wind  blows  ceaselessly  around, 

Beyond  the  range  of  conceptions 
Let  us  gain  the  center. 
And  there  hold  fast  without  violence, 
Fed  from  an  inexhaustible  supply. 

Like  a  water-wheel  awhirl. 
Like  the  rolling  of  a  pearl; 
Yet  these  but  illustrate, 
To  fools,  the  final  state. 


The  earth's  great  axis  spinning  on, 

The  never-resting  pole  of  sky  — 

Let  us  resolve  their  Whence  and  Why, 

And  blend  with  all  things  into  One; 

155 


156     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

Beyond  the  bounds  of  thought  and  dream, 
Circling  the  vasty  void  as  spheres 
Those  orbits  round  a  thousand  years: 
Behold  the  Key  that  fits  my  theme. 


Rank  and  wealth  within  the  mind  abide, 
Then  gilded  dust  is  all  your  yellow  gold. 
Kings  in  their  fretted  palaces  grow  old; 
Youth  dwells  forever  at  Contentment's  side. 
A  mist  cloud  hanging  at  the  river's  brim, 
Pink  almond  flowxrs  along  the  purple  bough, 
A  hut  rose-girdled  under  moon-swept  skies, 
A  painted  bridge  half-seen  in  shadows  dim, — 
These  are  the  splendors  of  the  poor,  and  thou, 
O  wine  of  spring,  the  vintage  of  the  wise. 


CH'ANG  CH'IEN.    a.d.  720 

X   SAT  upon  the  mountainside  and  v/atched. 
A  tiny  barque  that  skimmed  across  the  lake, 
Drifting,  like  human  destiny  upon 
A  world  of  hidden  peril;    then  she  sailed 
From  out  my  ken,  and  mingled  with  the  blue 
Of  skies  unfathomed,  while  the  great  round  sun 
Weakened  towards  the  waves. 


THE  POETRY  OF  THE  CHINESE   I57 

TS'EN-TS'AN.    a.d.  750 

INIlGHT  is  at  hand;    the  night  winds  fret  afar, 
The  north  winds  moan.    The  waterfowl  are  gone 
To  cover  o'er  the  sand  dunes;    dawn  alone 
Shall  call  them  from  the  sedges.     Some  bright 
star 

Mirrors   her   charms   upon   the   silver   shoal; 
And  I  have  ta'en  the  lute,  my  only  friend; 
The  vibrant  chords  beneath  my  fingers  blend; 
They  sob  awhile,  then  as  they  shp  control. 

Immortal  memories  awake,  and  the  dead  years 
Through  deathless  voices  answer  to  my  strings, 
Till  from  the  brink  of  time's  untarnished  springs 
The  melting  night  recalls  me  with  her  tears. 


PO  CHU-I.    A.D.  772 
Myself 

"W^HAT  of  myself? 

I  am  like  unto  the  sere  chrysanthemum 

That  is  shorn  by  the  frost-blade  and,  torn  from 

its  roots. 
Whirled  away  on  the  wind. 


158     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

Once  in  the  valleys  of  Ch'in  and  Yung  I  rambled 

at  will; 
Now  ring  me  round  the  unfriendly  plains  of  the 

wild  folk  of  Pa. 
Oh,  galloping  dawns  with  Youth  and  Ambition 

riding  knee  to  knee! 
Ride  on,  Youth,  with  the  galloping  dawns  and 

dappled  days! 
I  am  unhorsed,  out- ventured  — 
I,  who  crouch  by  the  crumbling  embers,  old,  and 

gray,  and  alone. 
One  great  hour  of  noon  with  the  sky-faring  Rukh 
I  clanged  on  the  golden  dome  of  heaven. 
Now  in  the  long  dusk  of  adversity 
I    have   found   my   palace   of  contentment,   my 

dream  pavilion. 
Even  the  tiny  twig  of  the  little  humble  wren. 


LAO  TZU 

W  HO  knows  how  white  attracts. 
Yet  always  keeps  himself  within  black's  shade. 
The  pattern  of  humility  displayed, 
Displayed  in  view  of  all  beneath  the  sky, 
He  in  the  unchanging  excellence  arrayed, 
Endless  return  to  man's  first  estate  has  made. 


THE  POETRY  OF  THE  CHINESE   I59 

Who  knows  how  glory  shines, 

Yet  loves  disgrace,  nor  e'er  for  it  is  pale; 

Behold  his  presence  in  a  spacious  vale. 

To  which  men  come  from  all  beneath  the  sky. 

The  unchanging  excellence  completes  its  tale; 

The  simple  infant  man  in  him  we  hail. 


OU-YANG  HSIU.    a.d.  1007 

J.N  flowing  crowds 

The  moon-born  clouds 

Cast  their  light  shade 

O'er  stairs  of  jade; 

And  all  the  moonlit  ways  are  one, 

Shining  in  silver  unison. 

Yet  who  can  read  aright 

The  mystery  of  night? 


ANON. 

IVIEN  pass  their  lives  apart  like  stars  that 
move,  but  never  meet.  This  eye,  how  blest  it  is 
that  the  same  lamp  gives  light  to  both  of  us! 
Brief  is  youth's  day.  Our  temples  already  tell 
of  waning  life.  Already  half  of  those  we  know 
are  spirits;   I  am  moved  in  the  depths  of  my  soul. 


l6o     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

ANON 

IVl OTHER  of  pity,  hear  my  prayer 

That  in  the  endless  round  of  birth 

No  more  may  break  my  heart  on  earth, 

Nor  by  the  windless  waters  of  the  Blest 

Weary  of  rest; 

That  drifting,  drifting,  I  abide  not  anywhere. 

Yet  if  by  Karma's  law  I  must 

Resume  this  mantle  of  the  dust, 

Grant  me,  I  pray. 

One  dewdrop  from  thy  willow  spray, 

And  in  the  double  lotus  keep 

My  hidden  heart  asleep. 


ANON.     A.D.  1715 

J.  IS  we  that  wail  the  hour  of  birth, 
'Tis  others  weep  the  hour  we  die. 
If  I  am  sad,  'tis  others  sing; 
Should  they  lament,  I  will  be  feasting. 
All  flows,  all  passes,  like  yon  stream; 
Like  yonder  wind-wheel  all  revolves. 
VVe  change  the  fire  grill,  changing  not  the  fire; 
New  lamps  or  old,  what  matters  it? 
'Tis  laughable  that  all  men  flock  in  crowds 
To  worship  Buddhas  and  the  Genii,- 


THE  POETRY  OF  THE  CHINESE   l6l 

Austerities  mean  cramp  and  weariness, 
And  genuflections  to  the  rites  a  headache. 
'Tis  but  a  tangle  of  marsh-lights  after  all, 
We  cannot  seize  the  shadow  of  the  wind. 
What  if  the  gods  made  answer  to  our  prayers? 
With  shouts  of  laughter  I  should  drive  the  crowd. 


A  speck  upon  your  ivory  fan 
You  soon  may  wipe  away; 
But  stains  upon  the  heart  or  tongue 
Remain,  alas,  for  aye. 


The  voice  of  the  cricket  is  heard  in  the  hall, 
The  leaves  of  the  forest  are  withered  and  sere; 
My  sad  spirits  droop  at  those  chirruping  notes, 
So  thoughtlessly  sounding  the  knell  of  the  year. 

Yet  why  should  we  sigh  at  the  change  of  a  date. 
When  life's  flowing  on  in  a  full,  steady  tide? 
Come,  let  us  be  merry  with  those  that  we  love; 
For  pleasure  in  measure  there  is  no  one  to  chide. 


l62     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 


CHIA     I.       200    B.C.* 
CALLED   THE   POE   OF   CHINA 

In  dismal,  gloomy,  crumbling  halls, 
Betwixt  moss-covered,  reeking  walls 
An  exiled  poet  lay. 

On  his  bed  of  straw  reclining, 
Half  despairing,  half  repining, 
When,  athwart  the  window  sill, 
In  flew  a  bird  of  omen  ill, 
And  seemed  inclined  to  stay. 

To  my  book  of  occult  learning 
Suddenly  I  thought  of  turning, 
All  the  mystery  to  know 
Of  that  shameless  owl  or  crow, 
That  would  not  go  away. 

"Wherever  such  a  bird  shall  enter, 
'Tis  sure  some  power  above  has  sent  her/* 
So  said  the  mystic  book,  **to  show 
The  human  dweller  forth  must  go," 
But  WHERE  it  did  not  say. 

*  From  "The  Lore  of  Cathay,"  by  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  by  courtesy  ol 
Fleming  H.  Reveli  &  Co. 


THE  POETRY  OF  THE  CHINESE   1 63 

Then  anxiously  the  bird  addressing, 
And  my  ignorance  confessing, 
"Gentle  bird,  in  mercy  deign 
The  will  of  Fate  to  me  explain. 
Where  is  my  future  way?" 

It  raised  its  head  as  if  'twere  seeking 
To  answer  me  by  simply  speaking; 
Then  folded  up  its  sable  wing, 
Nor  did  it  utter  anything. 
But  breathed  a  "Welladay!" 

More  eloquent  than  any  diction. 
That  simple  sigh  produced  conviction, 
Furnishing  to  me  the  key 
Of  the  awful  mystery 
That  on  my  spirit  lay. 

"Fortune's  wheel  is  ever  turning, 
To  human  eye  there's  no  discerning 
Weal  or  woe  in  any  state; 
Wisdom  is  to  bide  your  fate." 

That  is  what  it  seemed  to  say 

By  that  simple  "Welladay." 


i64     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 


SU    WU 

J.  WIN  trees  whose  boughs  together  twincj 

Two  birds  that  guard  one  nest, 
We'll  soon  be  far  asunder  torn, 
As  sunrise  from  the  west. 


Hearts  knit  in  childhood's  innocence, 

Long  bound  in  Flymen's  ties, 
One  goes  to  distant  battlefields. 

One  sits  at  home  and  sighs. 

Like  carrier  dove,  though  seas  divide, 

I'll  seek  my  lonely  mate; 
But  if  afar  I  find  a  grave. 

You'll  mourn  my  hapless  fate. 

To  us  the  future's  all  unknown; 

In  memory  seek  relief. 
Come,  touch  the  chords  you  know  so  well, 

And  let  them  soothe  our  grief. 


THE  POETRY  OF  THE  CHINESE   1 65 

PAN     CHIH     YU.       18    B.C. 
THE    SAPPHO    OF    CHINA 

VyF  fresh,  new  silk,  all  snowy  white, 

And  round  as  harvest  moon, 
A  pledge  of  purity  and  love, 

A  small  but  welcome  boon. 

While  summer  lasts,  borne  in  the  hand, 

Or  folded  on  the  breast, 
'Twill  gently  soothe  thy  burning  brow. 

And  charm  thee  to  thy  rest. 

But,  ah!  When  autumn  frosts  descend 

And  winter's  winds  blow  cold. 
No  longer  sought,  no  longer  loved, 

'Twill  lie  in  dust  and  mold. 

This  silken  fan,  then,  deign  accept, 

Sad  emblem  of  my  lot, 
Caressed  and  fondled  for  an  hour, 

Then  speedily  forgot. 


l66     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 


ANON. 

il.RE  there  not  beans  in  yon  boiling  pot, 
And  bean  stalks  are  burning  below? 

Now  why,  when  they  spring  from  one  parent  root, 
Should  they  scorch  each  other  so? 


LI   PO 

the  pope  of  his  age 

On  Drinking  Alone  by  Moonlight 


H 


ERE  are  flowers  and  here  is  wine, 
But  there's  no  friend  with  me  to  join 
Hand  to  hand  and  heart  to  heart. 
In  one  full  bowl  before  we  part. 

Rather,  then,  than  drink  alone, 
I'll  make  bold  to  ask  the  moon 
To  condescend  to  lend  her  face. 
The  moment  and  the  scene  to  grace. 

Lo!  she  answers  and  she  brings 
My  shadow  on  her  silver  wings; 
That  makes  three,  and  we  shall  be, 
I  ween,  a  merry  company. 


THE  POETRY  OF  THE  CHINESE  l6j 

The  modest  moon  declines  the  cup, 
My  shadow  promptly  takes  it  up; 
And  when  I  dance,  my  shadow  fleet 
Keeps  measure  with  my  twinkling  feet. 

Although  the  moon  declines  to  tipple, 
She  dances  in  yon  shining  ripple; 
And  when  I  sing,  my  festive  song 
The  echoes  of  the  moon  prolong. 

Say,  when  shall  we  next  meet  together? 
Surely  not  in  cloudy  weather; 
For  you,  my  boon  companions  dear, 
Come  only  when  the  sky  is  clear. 


PROVERBS    AND    MAXIMS 


"V 


PROVERBS    AND    MAXIMS 

Absent-mindedness 

J^  ELLING  a  tree  to  catch  the  blackbird. 
Asking  a  bhnd  man  the  road. 
Dragging  the  lake  for  the  moon  in  the  water. 
Adding  fuel  to  put  out  the  fire. 

• 

Accuracy 
Deviate  an  inch,  lose  a  thousand  miles. 


Business 

Better  go  than  send. 

Surety  for  the  bow,  surety  for  the  arrow. 
Great  profits,  great  risks. 
Before  buying,  calculate  the  seHing. 
Easy  to  open  a  shop;    hard  to  keep  it  open. 
Without  a  smihng  face  do  not  become  a  mer- 
chant. 

«         • 

Compensations 

The  beautiful  bird  gets  caged. 

171 


172    the   wisdom    of    the    chinese 

Difficulties 

Easier  said  than  done. 

Out  of  the  wolf's  den  into  the  tiger's  mouth. 

Divine  Providence 

Man  without  divine  assistance 
Cannot  move  an  inch  of  distance. 


Education 

Easy  to  learn,  hard  to  master. 

Husbandry  and  letters  are  the  two  chief  profes- 
sions. 

All  pursuits  are  mean  in  comparison  with 
learning. 

Who  teaches  me  for  a  day  is  my  father  for  a 
lifetime. 

Scholars  are  their  country's  treasure  and  the 
richest  ornaments  of  the  feast. 

Extensive  reading  is  a  priceless  treasure. 


Family 

In    a   united  family   happiness   springs   up   of 
itself. 


PROVERBS     AND     MAXIMS  1 73 


Gambling 


Losing  comes  of  winning  money. 
Believe  in  money,  sell  your  house. 


•  • 


Friendship 
Tigers  and  deer  do  not  stroll  together. 


Government 

Heaven  sees  as  the  people  see; 
Heaven  hears  as  the  people  hear. 
The   guilty   emperor  exhausts  the  mandate  of 
Heaven  (Mencius). 


Killing  a  bad  monarch  is  no  murder  (Mencius). 

Would  you  know  pohtics,  read  history. 
The  emperor  is  the  father  of  his  people,   not  a 
master  to  be  served  by  slaves. 


Gratitude 
Lambs  have  the  grace  to  suck  kneeling. 


174   the   wisdom   of   the    chinese 

Heedlessness 
In  at  one  ear,  out  at  the  other. 
Man  cannot  reach  perfection  in  a  hundred  years; 
He  can  fall  in  a  day  with  time  to  spare. 


Honesty 

Just  scales  and  full  measure  injure  no  man. 
Never  do  what  you  wouldn't  have  known. 
However  much  you  promise,  never  fail  to  pay, 

or 
Do  not  vary  your  promise  for  any  price. 


Humanity 

Kindness  is  greater  than  law. 
Guide  the  blind  over  the  bridge. 


Husbands  and  Wives 
If  they  match  by  nature,  marry  them. 
Every  family  has  a  Goddess  of  Mercy. 

Naught  must  divide  the  married  pair; 
Its  weight  the  steelyard  cannot  spare! 


PROVERBS     AND     MAXIMS  I75 

Who  is  the  wife  of  one,  cannot  eat  the  rice  of 
two. 

In  the  husband  fidehty,  in  the  wife  obedience. 

Humility 
Falling  hurts  least  those  who  fly  low. 


•         • 


Industry 
Those  who  will  not  work  shall  not  eat. 

• 

Instinct 

Plants  surpass  men  in  recognizing  spring. 
Does  the  swallow  know  the  wild  goose's  course? 

• 

Knowledge 

Schools  hide  future  premiers. 
The   pen   conveys   one's   meaning   a  thousand 
miles. 

Lawsuits 
Win  your  lawsuit,  lose  your  money. 
If  one  family  has  a  lawsuit,  ten  famihes  are 
involved. 


1 76  the  wisdom  of  the  chinese 

Vanity  of  Life 
Naked  we  came,  naked  we  go. 
The  Great  Wall  stands;    the  builder  is  gone. 


Man 

Mind  is  lord  of  man. 

Virtuous  men  are  a  king's  treasure. 

Opportunity 
Strike  while  the  iron  is  hot. 
Spilt  water  cannot  be  gathered  up. 

Physioans 

The  cleverest  doctor  cannot  save  himself. 

Easy  to  get  a  thousand  prescriptions;  hard  to 
obtain  a  cure. 

He  that  takes  medicine  and  neglects  diet, 
wastes  the  skill  of  the  physician. 


Only  those  become  priests  who  cannot  earn  a 
living. 

One  son  becomes  a  priest,  nine  generations  are 
sure  of  Heaven. 


proverbs    and    maxims         i77 

Procrastination 

Never  waste  time. 

Procrastination  is  the  thief  of  time. 


Practical  Religion 

God  loves  all  men. 

Better  do  a  kindness  near  home  than  go  far  to 
burn  incense. 

To  save  one  life  is  better  than  to  build  a 
seven-story  pagoda. 

• 

Self-control 
Think  twice  —  and  say  nothing. 

Youth 
In  the  boy  see  the  man. 
The  mark  must  be  made  in  youth. 

Wine 
Leisure  breeds  lust. 
Wine  is  the  discoverer  of  secrets. 
Intoxication   is   not  the  wine's  fault,   but  the 
man's. 


178   the   wisdom   of   the   chinese 

Woman 

The  good-looking  woman  needs  no  paint. 
Never  quarrel  with  a  woman. 
Three  tenths  of  good  looks  are  due  to  nature; 
seven  tenths  to  dress. 

Service 
Injure  others,  injure  yourself. 


One  generation  plants  the  trees;    another  sits 
in  their  shade. 


Skill 

Unskilled  fools  quarrel  with  their  tools. 
Better  Master  of  one  than  Jack  of  all  trades. 


Virtue 

Better  die  than  turn  your  back  on  reason. 

Look  not  on  temptation,  and  your  mind  will 
be  at  rest. 

It  is  a  little  thing  to  starve  to  death;  it  is  a 
serious  matter  to  lose  one's  virtue. 


PROVERBS     ANDMAXIMS  179 

General. 

When  men  come  face  to  face,  their  differences 
vanish. 

Do  not  neglect  your  own  in  order  to  weed 
another's  field. 

Time  flies  like  an  arrow,  days  and  months  like 
a  shuttle. 


MORAL    MAXIMS 


MORAL    MAXIMS 


T] 


HE  man  of  first-rate  excellence  is  virtuous 
independently  of  instruction;  he  of  the  middling 
class  is  so  after  instruction;  the  lowest  order  of 
men  are  vicious  in  spite  of  instruction. 


In  the  days  of  affluence  always  think  of  pov- 
erty; do  not  let  want  come  upon  you  and  make 
you  remember  with  sorrow  the  days  of  plenty. 


Without  the  wisdom  of  the  learned,  the  clown 
could  not  be  governed;  without  the  labor  of  the 
clown,  the  learned  could  not  be  fed. 


The  cure  of  ignorance  is  study,  as  meat  is  that 
of  hunger. 

The  mind  is  its  own  place,  and  in  itself 

Can  make  a  heaven  of  Hell,  a  hell  of  Heaven. 

183 


1 84  THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  CHINESE 

The  same  tree  may  produce  sour  and  sweet 
fruit;  the  same  mother  may  have  a  virtuous  and 
vicious  progeny. 

It  is  equally  criminal  in  the  governor  and  the 
governed  to  violate  the  laws. 

As  the  scream  of  the  eagle  is  heard  when  she 
has  passed  over,  so  a  man's  name  remains  after 
his  death. 

Questions  of  right  and  wrong  (with  reference 
to  right  and  wrong)  are  every  day  arising;  if 
not  listened  to,  they  die  away  of  themselves. 

• 

If  the  domestic  duties  be  duly  performed,  where 
is  the  necessity  of  going  afar  to  burn  incense? 


Doubt  and  distraction  are  on  earth;  the  bright- 
ness of  truth  in  Heaven. 


Meeting  with  difficulties,  we  think  of  our  rela- 
tions; on  the  brink  of  danger  we  rely  on  our 
friends. 


MORAL     MAXIMS  185 

Among  mortals  who  is  faultless? 


Do  not  love  idleness  and  hate  labor;    do  not 
be  diligent  in  the  beginning  and  in  the  end  lazy. 


If  there  be  no  faith  in  our  words,  of  what  use 
are  they? 

If  riches  can  be  acquired  with  propriety,  then 
acquire  them;  but  let  not  unjust  wealth  be 
sought  for  with  violence. 


Wine  and  good  dinners  make  abundance  of 
friends,  but  in  the  time  of  adversity  not  one  is 
to  be  found. 

Let  every  man  sweep  the  snow  from  before  his 
own  doors  and  not  trouble  himself  about  the 
frost  on  his  neighbor's  tiles. 


•         • 


Though  a  tree  be  a  thousand  chang  in  height, 
its  leaves  must  fall  down  and  return  to  its  root. 


1 86     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

Worldly  reputation  and  pleasure  are  destruc- 
tive to  virtue;  anxious  thoughts  are  injurious  to 
the  body. 


Better  be  upright  with  poverty  than  depraved 
abundance. 


He  whose  virtue  exceeds  his  talents  is  a  good 
man;  he  whose  talents  exceed  his  virtue  is  a 
mean  one. 


In  a  field  of  melons  do  not  pull  up  your  shoe; 
under  a  plum  tree  do  not  adjust  your  cap  (be 
very'  careful  of  your  actions  under  circumstances 
of  suspicion). 

The  man  of  worth  is  really  great  without  being 
proud;  the  irxcan  man  is  proud  without  being 
really  great. 

It  is  said  in  the  Ye-King  that  "of  those  men 
whose  talent  is  inconsiderable,  vvhile  their  station 
is  eminent,  and  of  those  whose  knowledge  is 
small,  while  their  schemes  are  large,  there  are 
few  who  do  not  become  miserable." 


MORAL     MAXIMS  187 

Though  a  man  may  be  utterly  stupid,  he  is 
very  perspicacious  when  reprehending  the  bad 
actions  of  others;  though  he  may  be  very  intel- 
hgent,  he  is  dull  enough  while  excusing  his  own 
faults;  do  you  only  correct  yourselves  on  the 
same  principle  that  you  correct  others,  and 
excuse  others  on  the  same  principle  that  you  ex- 
cuse yourselves. 

The  artful  are  loquacious,  the  simple  are  silent; 
the  artful  toil,  the  simple  enjoy  ease;  the  artful 
are  rogues,  the  simple  virtuous;  the  artful  are 
miserable,  the  simple  happy.  Oh,  that  all  in 
the  empire  were  artful  and  simple!  Punish- 
ments would  then  be  abolished.  Superiors  would 
enjoy  tranquillity,  and  inferiors  would  be  obedi- 
ent. The  manners  would  be  pure,  and  vile 
actions  become  extinct. 


Do    not   anxiously   hope   for   what  is   not  yet 
come;   do  not  vainly  regret  what  is  already  past. 


If  your  schemes  do  not  succeed,  of  what  use 
is   it   to   regret   their   failure?      If  they   do   not 


l88     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

flourish,  what  is  the  use  of  noisy  complaints? 
When  a  heart,  devoted  to  gain,  is  intent  on  any 
object,  then  virtue  is  set  aside;  where  interested 
views  exist,  there  a  regard  for  the  public  welfare 
is  extinguished. 


Men's  passions  are  like  water:  when  water 
has  once  flowed  over,  it  cannot  be  restored;  when 
the  passions  have  once  been  indulged,  they  can- 
not be  restrained.  Water  must  be  kept  in  by 
dikes;  the  passions  must  be  ruled  by  the  laws  of 
propriety. 

Low  courage  is  the  resentment  of  the  blood 
and  spirits;  noble  courage  is  the  resentment  of 
propriety  and  justice.  The  former  of  these  no 
man  should  possess;  the  latter  no  man  should 
be  without. 


Without  ascending  the  mountain,  we  cannot 
judge  of  the  height  of  heaven;  without  descend- 
ing into  the  valley,  we  cannot  judge  of  the  depth 
of  the  earth;  without  hstening  to  the  maxims 
left  by  the  ancient  kings,  we  cannot  know  the 
exceflence  of  learning. 


MORAL     MAXIMS  189 

In  making  a  candle  we  seek  for  light,  in  read- 
ing a  book  we  seek  for  reason;  light  to  illumi- 
nate a  dark  chamber,  reason  to  enlighten  a 
man's  heart. 

If  you  have  fields  and  will  not  plow  them, 
your  barns  will  be  empty ;  if  you  have  books  and 
will  not  give  instruction,  your  offspring  will  be 
ignorant;  if  your  barns  be  empty,  your  years 
and  months  will  be  unsupplied;  if  your  offspring 
be  ignorant,  propriety  and  justice  will  not  abound 
among  them. 

Though  an  affair  may  be  easily  accomplished, 
if  it  be  not  attended  to,  it  will  never  be  com- 
pleted; though  your  son  be  well-disposed,  if  he 
be  not  instructed,  he  will  still  remain  ignorant. 


If  you  love  your  son,  give  him  plenty  of  the 
cudgel;  if  you  hate  your  son,  cram  him  with 
dainties. 

The  small  birds  look  around  them  and  eat; 
the  swallow  goes  to  sleep  without  apprehension. 
He  who  possesses  an  enlarged  and  sedate  mind, 


190     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

will  have  great  happiness;  but  the  man  whose 
schemes  are  deep,  will  have  great  depth  of 
misery. 

When  the  mirror  is  highly  polished,  the  dust 
will  not  defile  it;  when  the  heart  is  enlightened 
with  wisdom,  licentious  vices  will  not  arise  in  it. 


The  fishes,  though  deep  in  the  water,  may 
be  hooked;  the  birds,  though  high  in  the  air, 
may  be  shot;  but  man's  heart  only  is  out  of  our 
reach.  The  heavens  may  be  measured,  the  earth 
may  be  surveyed;  the  heart  of  man  alone  is  not 
to  be  known.  In  painting  the  tiger,  you  may 
delineate  his  skin,  but  not  his  bones;  in  your 
acquaintance  with  a  man  you  may  know  his 
face,  but  not  his  heart.  You  may  sit  opposite 
to,  and  converse  with  him,  while  his  mind  is 
hidden  from  you  as  by  a  thousand  mountains. 


Forming  resentments  with  mankind  may  be 
called  ''planting  misery";  putting  aside  virtuous 
deeds,  instead  of  practicing  them,  may  be  called 
**  robbing  oneself." 


MORAL     MAXIMS  I9I 

When  a  man  of  a  naturally  good  propensity 
has  much  wealth,  it  injures  his  acquisition  of 
knowledge;  when  a  worthless  man  has  much 
wealth,  it  increases  his  faults. 


In   enacting   laws,    rigor   is   indispensable;     in 
executing  them,  mercy. 


Do  not  consider  any  vice  as  trivial,  and  there- 
fore practice  it;  do  not  consider  any  virtue  as 
unimportant,  and  therefore  neglect  it. 


If  men's  desires  and  wishes  be  laudable.  Heaven 
will  certainly  further  them. 


Those  who  have  discharged  their  duty  as 
children,  will  in  their  turn  have  dutiful  children 
of  their  own;  the  obstinate  and  untoward  will 
again  produce  offspring  of  the  same  character. 
To  convince  you,  only  observe  the  rain  from  the 
thatched  roof,  where  drop  follows  drop  without 
the  least  variation. 


192     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

He  who  tells  me  of  my  faults  is  my  teacher; 
he  who  tells  me  of  my  virtues  does  me  harm. 


Let  your  words  be  fev/  and  your  companions 
select;  thus  you  will  avoid  remorse  and  repent- 
ance, thus  you  will  avoid  sorrow  and  shame. 


Be  temperate  in  drinking,  and  your  mind  will 
be  calm;  restrain  your  impetuosity,  and  your 
fortunes  will  remain  uninjured. 


If  you  wish  to  know  what  most  engages  a 
man's  thoughts,  you  have  only  to  listen  to  his 
conversation  {or  A  man's  conversation  is  the 
mirror  of  his  thoughts). 


In  our  actions  we  should  accord  with  the  will 
of  Heaven;  in  our  words  we  should  consult  the 
feelings  of  men. 

Throughout  life  beware  of  performing  acts  of 
animosity;  'in  the  whole  empire  let  there  not 
exist  a  revengeful-minded  man.     It  is  very  well 


MORAL     MAXIMS  I93 

for  you  to  injure  others;  but  what  think  you  of 
others  returning  those  injuries  on  yourself?  The 
tender  blade  is  nipped  by  the  frost;  the  frost  is 
dissipated  by  the  sun;  and  worthless  man  will 
always  suffer  rubs  from  others  as  bad  as  them- 
selves. 

Knowing  what  is  right,  without  practicing  it, 
denotes  a  want  of  proper  resolution. 

Poverty  and  ruin  must  in  the  end  be  propor- 
tioned to  a  man's  wickedness  and  craft;  for 
these  are  qualities  which  Heaven  will  not  suffer 
to  prevail.  Were  riches  and  honor  the  proper 
result  of  crafty  villainy,  the  better  part  of  the 
world  must  fatten  on  the  winds. 


The  best  cure  for  drunkenness  is,  whilst  sober, 
to  observe  a  drunken  man. 

The  opening  flower  blooms  alike  in  all  places; 
the  moon  sheds  an  equal  radiance  on  every  moun- 
tain and  every  river.  Evil  exists  only  in  the 
heart  of  men;  all  other  things  tend  to  show  the 
benevolence  of  Heaven  towards  the  human  race. 


194     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

A  man  without  thought  for  the  future  must 
soon  have  present  sorrow. 

When  you  put  on  your  clothes,  remember  the 
labor  of  the  weaver;  when  you  eat  your  daily 
bread,  think  of  the  hardships  of  the  husbandman. 

• 

•  m 

A  man  is  ignorant  of  his  own  faihngs  as  the 
ox  is  unconscious  of  his  great  strength. 

The  poverty  of  others  is  not  to  be  ridiculed, 
for  the  decrees  of  destiny  are  in  the  end  equal; 
nor  are  the  infirmities  of  age  a  fit  subject  for 
laughter,  since  they  must  at  last  be  the  portion 
of  us  all.  When  the  day  that  is  passing  over  us 
is  gone,  our  hves  are  proportionably  contracted. 
What  reason,  then,  have  the  fish  to  be  merry, 
when  the  v/ater  in  which  they  swim  is  ebbing 
away? 

An  immoderate  use  of  dainties  generally  ends 
in  disease,  and  pleasure,  when  past,  is  converted 
into  pain.  It  is  better  to  avert  the  malady  by 
care  than  to  have  to  apply  the  physic  after  it 
has  appeared. 


MORAL     MAXIMS  I95 

Though  the  white  gem  be  cast  into  the  dirt, 
its  purity  cannot  be  (lastingly)  sullied;  though 
the  good  man  live  in  a  vile  place,  his  heart  can- 
not be  depraved.  As  the  fir  and  the  cypress 
withstand  the  rigors  of  the  winter,  so  resplen- 
dent wisdom  is  safe  in  difficulty  and  danger. 


If  a  man  wish  to  attain  to  the  excellence  of 
superior  beings,  let  him  first  cultivate  the  vir- 
tues of  humanity;  for  if  not  perfect  in  human 
virtue,  how  shall  he  reach  immortal  perfection? 


Man  is  born  without  knowledge,  and  when  he 
has  obtained  it,  very  soon  becomes  old;  when 
his  experience  is  ripe,  death  suddenly  seizes  him. 


A  man's  prosperous  or  declining  condition  may 
be  gathered  from  the  proportion  of  his  waking 
to  his  sleeping  hours. 


Unsullied  poverty  is  always  happy,  while  im- 
pure wealth  brings  with  it  many  sorrows. 


196     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

The  goodness  of  a  house  does  not  consist  in 
its  lofty  halls,  but  in  its  excluding  the  weather; 
the  fitness  of  clothes  does  not  consist  in  their 
costliness,  but  in  their  make  and  warmth;  the 
use  of  food  does  not  consist  in  its  rarity,  but  in 
its  satisfying  the  appetite;  the  excellence  of  a 
wife  consists  not  in  her  beauty,  but  in  her  virtue. 

• 

The  fame  of  men's  good  actions  seldom  goes 
beyond  their  own  doors,  but  their  evil  deeds  are 
carried  to  a  thousand  miles  distance. 


The  sincerity  of  him  who  assents  to  everything, 
must  be  small;  and  he  who  praises  you  inordi- 
nately to  your  face,  must  be  altogether  false. 

• 

If  sincerity  be  wanting  between  the  prince  and 
his  minister,  the  nation  will  be  in  disorder;  if 
between  father  and  son,  the  famify  will  be  dis- 
cordant; if  between  brothers,  their  affection  will 
be  loosened;  if  between  friends,  their  intercourse 
will  be  distant. 

Though  powerful  medicines  be  nauseous  to  the 
taste,  they  are  good  for  the  disease;   though  can- 


MORAL     MAXIMS  I97 

did  advice  be  unpleasant  to  the  ear,  it  is  profit- 
able to  the  conduct. 

To  show  compassion  towards  the  people  by 
remitting  the  severity  of  the  taxes,  is  the  virtue 
of  the  prince;  and  to  offer  up  their  possessions, 
sinking  their  private  views  in  regard  for  the 
public,  is  the  duty  of  the  people. 

Though  the  life  of  a  man  be  short  of  a  hundred 
years,  he  gives  himself  as  much  anxiety  as  if  he 
were  to  live  a  thousand. 

If  a  man  does  not  receive  guests  at  home,  he 
will  meet  with  very  few  hosts  abroad. 

Without  a  clear  mirror  a  woman  cannot  know 
the  state  of  her  own  face;  without  a  true  friend 
a  man  cannot  discern  the  errors  of  his  own 
actions. 

A  man  should  choose  a  friend  who  is  better 
than  himself;  if  only  hke  himself,  he  had  better 
have  none.  There  are  plenty  of  acquaintances  in 
the  world,  but  very  few  real  friends. 


198     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

In  Ker  accomprisliments  it  is  not  requisite  tor 
a  woman  to  display  talent  of  a  famous  or  un- 
common description,  in  her  face  it  is  not  requisite 
that  she  should  be  very  handsome;  her  conversa- 
tion need  not  be  very  pointed  or  eloquent,  her 
work  need  not  be  very  exquisite  or  surpassing. 


A  virtuous  woman  is  a  source  of  honor  to  her 
husband;    a  vicious  one  causes  him  disgrace. 

A  man's  patrimony  must  suffer  by  trifling  and 
idleness,  as  it  must  flourish  by  dihgence.  The 
chief  rule  to  be  observed  in  one's  plan  of  Hfe  is 
to  be  strenuous  in  the  beginning  and  to  increase 
one's  exertions  to  the  last. 


Even  the  carriers  of  burdens  may,  by  honesty 
and  diligence,  obtain  a  sufficiency.  The  proverb 
says:  "Every  blade  of  grass  has  its  share  of  the 
dews  of  heaven";  and  ** Though  the  birds  of  the 
forest  have  no  garners,  the  wide  world  is  all 
before  them." 

He  who  wishes  to  know  the  road  through  the 
mountains     must   ask   those   who   have   already 


MORAL     MAXIMS  I99 

trodden  it  (i.e.,  we  must  look  to  the  experienced 
for  instruction). 

It  is  better  to  believe  that  a  man  possess  good 
quahties  than  to  assert  that  he  does  not. 


The  mischiefs  of  fire,  or  water,  or  robbers, 
extend  only  to  the  body;  but  those  of  perni- 
cious doctrines,  to  the  mind. 


The  original  tendency  of  a  man's  heart  is  to 
do  right,  and  if  a  due  caution  be  observed,  it 
will  not  of  itself  go  wrong. 


As  it  is  impossible  to  please  men  in  all  things, 
our  only  care  should  be  to  satisfy  our  own 
consciences. 

A  man's  countenance  is  a  sufficient  index  of 
his  prosperity  or  adversity,  without  asking  him 
any  questions. 

Adversity  is  necessary  to  the  development  of 
man's  virtues. 


200     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

He  who  neglects  to  study  diligently  in  his 
youth,  will,  when  he  is  old,  repent  that  he  put 
it  off  until  too  late. 


He  who  studies  ten  years  in  obscurity,  will, 
when  once  preferred,  be  known  universally. 


It  is  too  late  to  pull  the  rein  when  the  horse 
has  gained  the  brink  of  the  precipice;  the  time 
for  stopping  the  leak  is  past  when  the  vessel  is 
in  the  midst  of  the  river. 


If  a  stream  be  not  confined,  it  will  soon  flow 
away  and  become  dry;  if  wealth  be  not  econo- 
mized, there  will  be  no  limits  to  its  expenditure, 
and  it  will  soon  be  wasted. 


It    is   easy   to   convince   a   wise   man,   but   to 
reason  with  a  fool  is  a  difficult  undertaking. 


Speak  of  men's  virtues  as  if  they  were  your 
own,  and  of  their  vices  as  if  you  were  liable  to 
their  punishment, 


MORALMAXIMS  201 

Mencius  said:  "All  men  concur  in  despising  a 
glutton,  because  he  gives  up  everything  that  is 
valuable  for  the  sake  of  pampering  what  is  so 
contemptible." 

What  man  shall  dare  to  oppose  him  whose 
words  are  consistent  with  reason,  and  whose 
actions  are  squared  by  the  rule  of  rectitude? 


To  the  contented,  even  poverty  and  obscurity 
bring  happiness,  while  to  the  ambitious,  wealth 
and  honors  are  productive  of  misery. 


As  the  hght  of  a  single  star  tinges  the  moun- 
tains of  many  regions,  so  a  single  unguarded  ex- 
pression injures  the  virtue  of  a  whole  life. 


The  evidence  of  a  single  glance  should  not  be 
relied  on  as  true,  nor  are  words  spoken  behind  a 
man's  back  deserving  of  much  credence. 


Though  a  poor  man  should  live  in  the  midst  of 
a   noisy   market,    no   one   will   ask   about   him; 


202     THE     WISDOM     OF     THE     CHINESE 

though  a  rich  man  should  bury  himself  among 
the  mountains,  his  relations  will  come  to  him 
from  a  distance. 


Knowledge  is  boundless,  but  the  capacity  of 
one  man  is  limited. 

Plausible  words  are  not  so  good  as  straightfor- 
ward conduct;  a  man  whose  deeds  are  enlight- 
ened by  virtue,  need  not  be  nice  about  his 
expressions. 

A  single  conversation  across  the  table  with  a 
wise  man  is  better  than  ten  years'  mere  study 
of  books. 

By  a  single  day's  practice  of  virtue,  though 
happiness  may  not  be  attained,  yet  misery  may 
be  kept  at  a  distance;  by  a  single  day  of  ill 
doing,  happiness  is  prevented. 


No  medicine  can  procure  long  life  even  to  the 
ministers  of  the  emperor;  no  money  can  pur- 
chase for  any  man  a  virtuous  posterity. 


MORAL     MAXIMS  203 

A  single  false  move  loses  the  game. 

Prudence  will  carry  a  man  all  over  the  world, 
but  the  impetuous  find  every  step  difficult. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
AND     SOURCES 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  AND  SOURCES 

Samuel  Couling,  M.A.,  The  Encyclopaedia  Sinica. 

Oxford  University. 
Sir  J.  F.  Davis,  Chinese  Moral  Maxims.    London. 

1823. 
De  Groot,  The  Religious  Systems  of  China. 
Sir  R.  K.  Douglas,  The  Literature  and  Language 

oj  China. 
H.    A.    Giles,    History    oJ    Chinese    Literature. 

Appleton  and  Co.,  New  York. 
Dr.   W.    A.    P.   Martin,    The   Lore    oJ    Cathay. 

Fleming  H.  Revell  and  Co.,  New  York. 
William  Scarborough,  Chinese  Proverbs.     Lon- 
don.    1873. 
Arthur  H.  Smith,  Proverbs  and  Common  Sayings 

of  the  Chinese.     1902. 
D.  T.  Suzuki,  Brief  History  of  Chinese  Philosophy. 

Probsthain  &  Co.     London.     191 4. 
The  Chinese  Classics.    Translated  by  Prof.  James 

Legge.     Oxford  University  Press. 
The  Sacred  Books  of  China.    Translated  by  Prof. 

James  Legge.    Oxford  University  Press. 


207 


JGRAPHY  AND  SOURCES— Continued 

.£L  Giles    (Translated  by),    The  Sayings  of 
^ao  Tzu.     John  Murray,  London. 

L.  Cranmer-Byng  (Translated  by),  The  Book  of 
Odes  (Shi  King).     John  Murray,  London. 

Lionel  Giles  (Translated  by),  Taoist  Teachings. 
John  Murray,  London. 

Lionel  Giles  (Translated   by).  Sayings  of  Con- 
fucius.    John  Murray,  London. 

Lionel   Giles    (Translated    by),   Musings  of  a 
Chinese  Mystic.     John  Murray,  London. 


These  books  are  In  the  "Wisdom  of  the  East"  Serie* 
Imported  by  E.  P.  Dutton  Co. 


208 


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